


Night on the Road

by greggrulzok



Category: Night In The Woods (Video Game)
Genre: ADVENTUUUUUURE, Angst?, Angus is good, Bea is tired, Comedy, Continuation, F/F, Full of references, Gay, Gregg rulz ok, Intense?, M/M, Mae is concerning, Night in the Woods - Freeform, Road Trip!!!, Secrets, Surprises, Tumbling down the hill of life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-04-04
Packaged: 2019-04-18 07:46:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 45,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14208492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greggrulzok/pseuds/greggrulzok
Summary: Picking up right where the game left off; Mae, Gregg, Angus, and Bea decide to go on a road trip to get their mind off things. Along the road, there will be many surprises in store for our characters, and not always good ones. Anything can happen in this Night in the Woods adventure! It’s best everything is left unsaid until revealed.





	1. Good Plans and Good Tacos

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Pegaraffeasaurus](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Pegaraffeasaurus).



> Author's Note: Welcome to Night on the Road, my continuation of the Night in the Woods gang's story! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please review, the feedback really helps.
> 
> ~K

**Part 1**   
**Before the Fall, but in the Winter**

Chapter 1 - Good Plans and Good Tacos

“So what are we playing?” Angus asked, looking around at his three friends around him. Everyone was looking at him, but their gazes soon moved between one another.  
“No matter what we play, I probably won’t know it.” Mae huffed from the place where she was sitting on the stage.  
“You’re the leader, Gregg,” Bea said, looking at the orange fox sitting next to the cat. Lately, the alligator had been using dummy cigarettes to try and quit smoking actual cigarettes, and this time was no different. An almost realistic cigarette hung out of her mouth, held in place by her teeth when she spoke.  
“I’m thinking, Bea, I’m thinking,” Gregg said, then turned his head to the cat. “Mae, should we play something old or something new and raaaaaw?”  
Mae shook her head. “I don’t know. Mayb-”  
The fox jumped up suddenly, causing everyone to flinch. “I GOT IT!” He smiled and paused a bit.  
The bear blinked from behind his glasses. “What is it, bug?” He asked.  
“Die Anywhere Else,” Gregg said. “After recent events that we won’t speak of, the lyrics of that song have never been more relatable.” Everyone nodded their head.  
“Agreed.” The other three said in unison. Gregg nodded and began walking toward where his guitar was in the Party Barn’s office. “So then it’s settled.” He broke into a run and disappeared behind a corner.  
Mae hopped off the stage. “At least I’ve been practicing this one!” She ran off after him.  
Angus and Bea didn’t really say anything to each other as they got onto the stage. Bea got her computer and software running, and Angus did his vocal warm-ups after testing the mic. It didn’t take long for Mae and Gregg to return. Soon, the group was all set up and ready to jam.  
Gregg looked at everyone. “You guys ready?” With a confirmation from each of them, the band began to play.

* * *

 

** Die Anywhere Else **

_Dust on this tired old street_  
_Mark corners where we used to play_  
_Dust trace our tired old feet_  
_In circles as we pace our time away_

 _I just wanna die anywhere else_  
_If only I could die anywhere else, so_  
_Come with me let’s die anywhere else_  
_Anywhere_  
_Just not here_

 _Stuck on this dead end street_  
_Where all the new kids come to play_  
_Stuck-- Where past and future meet_  
_Watching all our autumns drift away_

 _I just wanna die anywhere else_  
_If only I could die anywhere else, so_  
_Come with me let’s die anywhere else_  
_Anywhere_  
_Just not here_

 _And if they ever_ _hear my name_  
_Will they know I walked alone?_  
_Around these dusty streets_  
_My tired old home_

 _And will they ever stop to think_  
_What was here before, no_  
_They won’t remember_  
_That I’m gone_

 _I just wanna die anywhere else_  
_If only I could die anywhere else, so_  
_Come with me let’s die anywhere else_  
_Anywhere_  
_Just not here_  
_Oh no_

* * *

 

“Pretty good!” Gregg said after a moment of silence so that the end of the song could sink in.  
“Yeah, that was okay,” Bea said.  
“Um, that was pretty much perfect. I told you I’ve been practicing. Every night!” Mae exclaimed. Gregg applauded her.  
“Istilldon’tbelieveyouactuallycommittedtosomethingbut that was pretty spot on,” Gregg said, pulling his guitar strap off his head, and leaning his instrument against the wall. “That was some good singing, babe.” He smiled, looking at Angus admiringly. The bear’s ears went up as his mouth formed into a precious smile.  
“Heh heh. Thanks, bug.” He came down from the stage. Gregg was immediately by his side, and Angus’ arm went around him.  
Bea shut her computer down and stepped off the stage. Mae still had her bass around her neck. The sound of her stomach growling filled the silence for a moment. “Pizzaaaaaa.” She groaned.  
“Yeah! Pizza!” Gregg cheered.  
“Yay. Pizza.” Bea said in her typical monotone voice.  
“Hooray for pizza,” Angus said, still smiling. “Are we really going to go eat that crappy diner pizza though?”  
“Oh yeah. That pizza was okay.” Bea said. “I don’t know if I really want it again.”  
“But the Pizza Scale says that it’s not unedible. Pizza good.” Gregg explained, looking at Mae for reassurance. Mae had a look of realization on her face. “Uh...Mae?”  
“Tacos,” Mae said. The group blinked.  
“...What about them?” Angus asked, pushing up his glasses.  
“Oh, right. A new taco place just opened up recently. What was it called again?” Bea asked.  
“Taco Buck. They have pretty good reviews. Might be better than crappy diner pizza.” Gregg said. Mae looked at everyone hungrily.  
“Tacooos.” Mae hummed.  
“I think it’s safe to say that Mae is pretty set on tacos,” Angus said. “I’m fine with that if you guys are.”  
“Never hurts to try something new,” Bea said, looking at Gregg.  
“Heck yeah, tacos!” He cheered. “Mae get your damn bass off, you weirdo.”  
Mae looked down and blinked. “Oh shit, I didn’t realize I still had it.” She pulled it off from over her head and set it down on the stage. It’s not like anyone was going to step on it or anything. “God, I’m so ready for tacos.”  
“Agreed,” Angus said.

* * *

  
“These tacos are actually pretty great,” Bea said. “I am generally enjoying them.”  
“Bea’s enjoying something and Mae’s committing to things? What is this?” Gregg asked jokingly from where he was leaning against Angus.  
“I can commit!” Mae argued. She thought for a moment how she couldn’t really commit to a relationship with Cole, or commit to college, or Mr. Chazakov’s class...  
“Not to be rude, Mae, but you commit to things as much as I love working for my dad,” Bea said, biting into her taco.  
Mae also bit into her taco. “It’s time to talk about something else now. So, what are everyone’s plans for this weekend?”  
“I actually have time off, believe it or not,” Bea said, chewing her taco. “So I guess I’m free to do whatever.”  
“Angus and I are going to make out at art museums,” Gregg said casually, kissing Angus’ cheek. The bear blushed and waved his hands in front of him rapidly.  
“We’re not really!” He said. “We’re just going to stay home and laze about. I might play some Sword People Online, and Gregg has to do the laundry.”  
Gregg’s ears flattened and he sighed. “I lost a bet.”  
“You poor, poor, creature,” Mae said, putting a hand on his shoulder.  
“Dig me a hole, I don’t think I’m going to make it,” Gregg said, bringing a dramatic hand to his forehead.  
“Ugh, don’t ever talk about holes again,” Mae said. “I don’t want to see another hole forever, fivever…” She took a bite of her taco.  
“Mae, there are literally holes all around you,” Bea said.  
“They’re basically unavoidable,” Angus added. He was using his free hand to eat his taco, somehow not getting any sauce or contents on Gregg. True love is this.  
“Plus, everyone has-”  
“Okay, okay, I get it,” Mae interjected. “I just can’t stop thinking about what happened, and I wish I could.” She sighed, looking at her taco disappointedly. Not because it tasted bad, of course. These were effin’ good tacos.  
“Yeah, and Casey…” Gregg frowned.  
“I thought we agreed not to talk about it?” Bea said, putting her taco down and wiping her hands with her napkin.  
“I’m pretty sure I told you that was going to be impossible,” Mae said.  
“She did.” Angus nodded. “And I’d have to say I agree. As much as I still think those people got what they deserved, I can’t just never talk about it again.”  
“Plus Casey was our friend, Bea. How can we just ignore what they did to him?” Gregg asked, almost angrily.  
“Woah, calm down. I guess I just never wanted to think about it again.” The alligator said, taking a sip of water.  
“Well, we never said we wanted to think about it,” Angus explained. “It’s just that it’s kind of impossible not to.”  
“Yeah, Beabea,” Mae said. “I wish I could forget everything that happened that night forever, but unless you’re secretly part of the Men in Black, then that’s not going to happen.”  
“Well, we could do what people on TV do and find something to distract ourselves,” Bea suggested, grabbing her taco and eating again.  
“Like what?” Gregg asked.  
“Ooh, we could go on one of those road trip things!” Mae said. “I heard that Brian Anderson had a shitty week so he went on a road trip with his dudes and he came back a changed man.”  
“You do realize it’s just going to be us sweaty adults in a car for days,” Bea explained.  
“Aww, you called me an aduuult,” Mae smiled. “And I’m pretty sure we make stops and stuff.”  
Bea scoffed. “I know that. I just don’t think you and Gregg will be able to handle it.”  
Gregg looked shocked. “How dare you, Beatrice Santello.”  
“I think a road trip is a great idea, Bea,” Angus spoke up.  
“Um, it was my idea.” Mae pointed to herself. The bear nodded.  
“Sorry. I think a road trip is a great idea, _Mae_.” He corrected. Mae nodded in approval. “Where would we even go though?” He asked, pushing his glasses up with a finger.  
“Um, rad junkyards obviously,” Gregg said. He repositioned to be more comfortable against Angus.  
“No thanks, we already live in one,” Bea said. “And even if we didn’t, how is that fun?”  
“Junkyards are fun! You can climb the piles of trash and find a ton of cool shit.” Mae explained.  
“But they smell bad,” Angus said. Gregg craned his neck to look up at him.  
“I don’t get it, Angus. You know I smell and you still like me!” He said. Angus chuckled softly.  
“You at least shower once a week.” He said, ruffling the fur on Gregg’s head, causing the fox to push his hand away and fix it.  
“Whatever. I still think junkyards are cool.” Gregg said. Their tacos were finished now. Mae leaned her head on her paw.  
“Maybe we should take some time to think about it. After all, the weekend isn’t for another three days.” Bea said. “And please, don’t think of something ridiculous.” This got eye rolls from Gregg and Mae.  
“Let’s meet at Angus and Gregg’s apartment on Friday,” Mae said. “Then we can pitch our ideas.”  
So the group agreed that they would think of some places to visit while on their road trip. After talking a bit more, they paid for their food and walked out of Taco Buck.  
“So Beabea, are you free tomorrow?” Mae asked, turning to face the alligator, who was getting a dummy cigarette out. Bea shook her head.  
“Nope. Gotta go fix a heater.” She said, sticking the dummy in her mouth. Mae frowned a bit.  
“Oh. Well, what about you, Gregg? What are you up to tomorrow?” She asked, now turning to the fox.  
“Was thinking about heading over to the abandoned glass factory.” He said with a smirk. “I bet there’s a lot of things we can break there.”  
Mae’s eyes widened. “I can’t believe you haven’t thought of this amazing idea before!”  
Angus pulled Gregg’s ear a bit. “Um, how about no? Gregg, there’s going to be like broken glass everywhere.” To this, Mae and Gregg burst out laughing. Angus raised an eyebrow. “What?”  
“Mae and I smash lightbulbs all the time,” Gregg explained.  
“Yeah, and all the two times we’ve done it Gregg hasn’t gotten injured, and there were glass shards flying at his head!” Mae said.  
Angus had a blank expression for a moment. “You do realize you could have like, lost an eye or something.”  
“But I didn’t,” Gregg said.  
“Gregg, that’s not the point,” Bea said. “You should really be more considerate to how Angus feels.”  
Gregg huffed and looked down. “Sorry, Angus…” The bear turned him around and took him in both his arms, squeezing. This created a loving smile on Gregg’s face.  
“It’s okay, bug. Can you and Mae try to, like, hang out like normal people?” Angus asked.  
“But normal people are booooring,” Mae whined. “What do normal people even do?”  
“They don’t break light bulbs and cause shards of glass to fly at each other,” Bea said. Mae groaned.  
“You guys are buzzkills.” She said. Angus was still hugging Gregg.  
“I guess we could figure out something “normal” to do.” The fox said.  
“That’s good enough for me,” Angus said, letting go of him. “It’s getting late, we should get home.” Gregg nodded.  
“Good night, guys!” Gregg said, grabbing Angus’ paw.  
“Night, Grangus,” Mae said.  
“Ugh, don’t call us that,” Gregg said.  
“G’night you two,” Bea said.  
Angus waved at her. “Bye, Bea.”  
“Okay night everyone!” Mae said and ran off toward home.  
The rest of the group watched her disappear down the hill, then went their separate ways.


	2. The Stranger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stranger Danger

Chapter 2 - The Stranger

_A few days later..._

“Ahhh...Just feel that breeze between your ears.” Mae said, closing her eyes as she and Gregg ripped through the wind on his bike. The two wore big goggles so the wind wouldn’t dry out their eyes. “You sure you still want to do this? Angus might get really mad at you!”  
“What?” Gregg asked loudly. All he could really hear was the loud whooshing of the wind in his ears, but he could hear Mae mumbling back behind him.  
“Nothing! I was talking to myself!” Mae shouted.  
“Oh! Sorry!” Gregg responded.  
“It’s fine!”  
“What?”  
“I said don’t worry about it!” Mae repeated.  
“Huh?”  
“I said-- Nevermind.” She said the last word at a normal volume.  
“What?” Gregg looked behind him. Mae’s eyes opened and she saw the fox looking back at her. Her eyes widened when she spotted a rock that wasn’t too big but wasn’t very small either. They were zooming straight towards it.  
“Gregg!” But it was too late. The cat regretted not wearing a helmet and they both yelped as the bike slammed into the rock and Mae could feel the back of the bike begin to lift up as gravity began working and she slid from where she was sitting towards Gregg. Suddenly, everything became a jumble of shapes as the world spun around them in all kinds of angles, the trio a tangle of limbs and a bike that became tangled with limbs. It all happened so fast. The bike ended up becoming sandwiched between the fox and the cat, their arms and legs crossing its frame and each other. It was a jumbled mess.  
“Uggghhh…” Mae groaned. She tried to move but to no avail.  
“Oof, dude, I think I might have broken everything.” Gregg winced as he also tried to move.  
“We should have killed gravity when we had the chance,” Mae said, resting her head on the ground.  
“Agreed,” Gregg said. They laid there for a few seconds. “Okay, let’s get out of here.” He lifted his head to look at the mess in front of him.  
Mae lifted her head as well. This would require patience, and if this was literally anyone else it would be done with ease. But this is Mae and Gregg, so it took a lot longer for them to get untangled. After a lot of struggling and arguing and pain, the two were free and standing up, looking down at the bike. “Did it ever occur to you we’re about to do something more dangerous than that?”  
Gregg had a cut on his leg, and Mae could see through the rip in his pants that it was bleeding. The sweater he was wearing was covered in dirt, as were his pants, but the damage didn’t seem too big. “It’s going to be awesome, as long as we’re careful.” He winced a bit and felt sore all over.  
Mae felt pretty much the same, but she had cut her cheek. “I think I’m just going to go crawl into a log and die.”  
“At least you’ll have porn,” Gregg commented. They were both still looking at the poor bike.  
“How do you know it’ll be a porn log?” Mae asked, now looking up at him and smiling.  
“How do you know it won’t be a porn log?” He said, smiling back. “Let’s go check out that factory.”  
“I think for once I’m in the mood to hang out like “normal” people,” Mae commented. “I hurt.”  
“Okay yeah, I didn’t actually want to continue. Let’s go to your house or something.” He said, removing his now cracked goggles. Mae’s remained unscathed somehow.  
“How? We’re both in pain and the bike looks pretty dinged up.” Mae said, pointing. Suddenly, the sound of crunching leaves could be heard nearby.

* * *

 

Meanwhile, Angus was at home playing one of the many MMOs he was a part of. His character had just leveled up to 63, and he was busy exploring the skill tree to see what would benefit his character, Clarence, best.  
He had begun naming his characters names that sounded gentleman-like when he first started playing MMOs. While others had all these crazy names, Angus’ characters’ had calm and civilized names. For some reason, it was just hilarious to Angus when he imagined the look on other animals faces when they get killed by “Bob.”  
He was in the middle of the thought when he heard the notification sound of the Messenger app and a small window in the bottom right corner of his screen popped up with a message. It was from Bea.  
  
Bea: Hey Angus, I have a little time before I go and fix that heater. What’s up?

Angus smiled. He and Bea have been chatting more and more ever since the incident, and he’s found he really enjoys talking to a more mature person than what he usually deals with. Don’t get him wrong, Gregg and Mae are great, especially Gregg, but it’s nice to have some conversation with someone he relates to. They used to talk more often, but somewhere between Mae leaving and returning, they drifted apart for some unknown reason. Sure, they talked occasionally, especially when Casey disappeared and Angus thought maybe he and Bea would find him. They tried for weeks, but ended up giving up in the end. Gregg appreciated their efforts, but it seemed to only make his sadness worse, as it was a confirmation Casey was indeed not coming back. They don’t talk much about that time. After the incident brought all of them closer together they had been talking everyday, and seemed to never run out of things to say.  
  
Angus: Hey, Bea. That guy at the Video Outpost hasn’t shown up still. Very suspicious. And annoying because I keep having to cover for him.  
Bea: I know right, the guy I told you who works with me that we can’t get rid of hasn’t shown up either.  
Angus: But that’s a good thing, right? You know…  
Bea: It is pretty good, yeah. If only my work didn’t show up. Oh well, I’ll take what I can get.  
Angus: What? How would your work not show up? It doesn’t have legs.  
Bea: I mean if the building could just not be there when I show up one day, that would be great.  
Angus: Oh yeah, that would be pretty great. Save you all the stress and maybe you could actually go to school?  
Bea: I wish it would be that way. If the building disappeared, my dad would flip his shit and we probably would lose our house and shit from not having money. Okay, this is making me sad let’s talk about something else.  
Angus: What about the road trip? Should be fun?  
Bea: Yeah. That’s important, we should really talk about it more so we have a plan. I’ve been trying to think of places we can visit. These brochures in the shop don’t help. They’re only for Possum Springs. I think it’s dumb because we have no tourists.  
Angus: Mae told me she met quite a few during her week back, actually. And what about the children?  
Bea: Technology is so advanced these days. Did you know they have this thing called the Internet?  
Angus: Ooh, really? Tell me about this Internet thing.  
Bea: Basically you can find out anything you want to know and more. You can also watch movies, listen to music, read books, and play games.  
Angus: I need to buy an Internet!  
Bea: It can be yours for a measly price of $184795938570293470.87!  
Angus: That’s oddly specific. Anyways, I’m lucky that we have an adult section, or I’d be out of a job.  
Bea: Yeah, who even rents the movies in the front of the store?  
Angus: There are some! Oldies and people who like to stay traditional. You know Lori Meyers? She’s a regular. She really likes scary movies.  
Bea: Isn’t she like 10?  
Angus: 15.  
Bea: Oh well sorry to cut this conversation short but I gotta get going bye Angus!  
Angus: Bye!

Angus sat back in his chair, still chuckling from the internet conversation. It occurred to him after a moment that they got way off topic and didn’t talk about the road trip almost at all. “Oops.” He said. He went back to his game and saved it, closing the window and then going to search for fun places to visit in America.

* * *

 

  
“What was that?” Gregg asked, looking around. “It better not be an owl!”  
“Um, it’s daytime. I’m pretty sure owls are nocturnal.” Mae said, turning her head and searching as well. The crunching noises grew louder as a figure approached them. Mae and Gregg stood still as they watched. The figure appeared, and it looked to be an ugly old raccoon that dressed as a stereotypical hobo. “Well, I guess that’s where stereotypes have their origins, I guess,” Mae said, aloud.  
“What?” Both Gregg and the raccoon said.  
“Nothing,” Mae said, shaking her head. “Who are you?”  
The hobo reached his hand out for a shake after getting closer. “I’m Don George.”  
“Sounds fake,” Gregg said.  
“Well, I assure you, I swear on my dead parents name it’s real.” Don George said.  
“Are you homeless?” Mae asked, studying the outfit he was wearing.  
“What? No, this is just how I dress.” He said, brushing some dirt off.  
“Oh wow, neat,” Gregg said. “Unless you’re one of those people who pretend to be homeless for money.” He squinted.  
“He literally told you that’s how he dresses, Gregg,” Mae said, rolling her eyes.  
“I promise I’m not a scammer, Gregg was it?” Don George said. “You guys look like you just spent the day falling down a mountain.” He was looking between the fox and the cat, studying their wounds.  
“Yeah, we hit a rock when we were riding Gregg’s bike,” Mae explained, pointing to the bike still lying on there on the ground.  
“Oh dear. But then again, you guys are really far from the path.” The old raccoon said.  
“We like to live on the edge, even though my boyfriend hates it,” Gregg said.  
“It’s understandable. Loved ones don’t like to see the people they’re close to hurt.” Don George commented.  
“So what are you doing out here?” Mae asked. She had debated on calling him old man but found there was no reason to be disrespectful at this time.  
“I was just out on my daily walk when I heard you guys from a distance and teens are always messing up the forest, so I wanted to make sure you weren’t causing trouble.” He explained.  
Mae laughed on the inside. It’s not like they came out here to break shit or anything. And she and Gregg have caused enough damage to forests that it’s still funny. Plus, there was that one conversation where Gregg explained to Mae that when he’s in a forest he can’t not change it a little. Mae felt the same way.  
“I can see that you guys are injured. Why don’t you come to my house and have some joe and I can help you with that. After all, I used to be a doctor.” Don George explained.  
“Um, no thanks. I don’t like coffee.” Gregg said. “Unless it has, like, a ton of sugar or something. But like I told Mae, it’s too much effort to make something that tastes bad taste okay.”  
“Alright, then tea.” The raccoon offered. Mae and Gregg nodded in agreement. “And I can help tend to those wounds.”  
“Sounds good to me,” Mae said, remembering how when her Grandpa read her stories they would share tea together. This guy reminded her of her grandpa, just a bit.  
“Yeah, I’m good with that,” Gregg said.  
So Mae and Gregg (limping and wincing) followed a complete stranger to his home.

* * *

 

The house wasn’t very far at all, so Mae and Gregg didn’t suffer too much.  
They arrived at a small little shack in a clearing. It was a little run down and made almost entirely of wood. It had a cobble chimney sticking out of the side and a small front porch with two rocking chairs. The wood looked old and worn, and the house probably would collapse if enough force was given to it. The lavender curtains flowing over the windows were tattered, and the house honestly looked like a place kidnapped people are held...  
“Woah, your house is awesome!” Mae gasped. “It looks like something out of a horror movie.”  
“Thank you?” Don George said, walking up the steps onto the porch. “It’s not pretty, but it’s home.”  
Gregg was looking around, gawking at things that people wouldn’t normally gawk at. “Wow, that old windmill is pretty cool looking.” He said, pointing, then regretting it because of the pain.  
“Ms. Miranda has a big one in her front yard,” Mae explained. “It’s really cool and I climbed to the top of it.”  
Don George was busy unlocking the front door with a very old key. “This place has been around longer than I have lived in it. As you can see, I don’t have a lot of money, so I had to settle on the cheapest place I could find.”  
“I bet Angus would appreciate how homey it is. He doesn’t talk about it often, but I think he likes the country. He used to be in scouts and I guarantee you this would remind him of the cabins he stayed in. He told me he didn’t even have Wi-Fi or electricity in there. I can’t imagine living without my precious internet.” Gregg explained.  
“Ugh, I already want to die from the thought,” Mae said. “I need my memes. I like to send a lot of random ones to Bea sometimes. She loves it.” At least, that’s what she told herself.  
“Well, Wi-Fi was invented in 1991, so it was roughly still new at the time.” The old coon explained. “But also, electrical wires and lines don’t run to places all the way out here. Cities are concentrated areas so it makes sense. Everything is so spread out here, it would cost a lot of time and money that we all know Possum Springs doesn’t have.”  
“I like this guy,” Mae said. There was a click as the door unlocked and Don George opened it. “Welcome to my humble abode! Please, make yourselves comfortable while I start the tea.”  
Mae and Gregg walked into the stranger’s home and Gregg shut the door behind them.

 


	3. Don George

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello old man

Chapter 3 - Don George

The house was nicer on the inside than it was on the outside. Standing where they entered, Mae and Gregg observed the old coon’s house.  
To the immediate left was the small kitchen that could probably fit a maximum of two people. There was no fridge or freezer, and there was a gas-powered stove. There were counters for preparing food, and there were bottom cabinets that held pots and pans. Above those cabinets were drawers, which held silverware and utensils. There were a few top cabinets that lined the walls which held glasses, plates, and bowls. There was a sink filled with dirty dishes, the faucet dripping a small drop onto a small greasy plate every few seconds. The rhythmic dripping was interrupted by Don George bringing a little metal kettle under the now rushing faucet, the handles making a loud squeak when he turned it. On one of the walls in the kitchen was a painting of a cup of coffee with the words “Don’t talk to me before coffee” on it. There were no walls separating the kitchen from the living room.  
In the living room, there were two worn leather chairs in front of a fireplace that was cold, white ashes littering the bottom of it. On the mantle of the fireplace, there were picture frames of Don George and one with a woman that was unfamiliar to Gregg and Mae. There was a cow skin rug under the old furniture, and Gregg looked at Mae. It was obvious they were thinking the same thing. How wonderful it would be to just lie down with their arms spread out on the rug, letting the softness tickle them. They would close their eyes and just let their problems fade away, lying there thinking about nothing, maybe even falling asleep and dreaming about the coziest things, maybe not even dreaming at all. There were some plants inside for decoration, and lots of pretty paintings and pictures, some including the lady from the pictures on the mantle. Mae looked up, noticing there weren’t even lights. “How do you see in the dark?” Mae asked.  
“I use lighting from the windows and candles and lanterns.” Don George responded. He was busy turning on the stove.  
“Sounds like a lot of work,” Gregg said, moving to one of the chairs and feeling the leather.  
“I’m old, so I usually go to bed by 9:00.” Don George started. “I don’t stay up all night, and I really only need one light in the room that I’m in.”  
“I guess that makes sense,” Gregg said, deciding to sit down in the chair, removing his sweater because there was no air conditioning. Mae did the same, sitting in the other chair. The fox kept looking around, noticing the candles with blackened wicks.  
“Where do those doors go?” Mae asked. There was a door for every wall, and the one with the arch leading to the kitchen had a door that looked different than the others. A little fancier, with four squares instead of none, like the other doors, had.  
Don George finished setting the stove up and put the kettle to boil. He came out of the kitchen and saw Mae pointing to the fancier door. “That door leads to the basement.” He pointed to the door on the wall farthest from him. Under the door was complete blackness, most likely signifying there weren’t any windows inside. “That one leads to my bedroom, and that one leads to the bathroom.” He finished, pointing to the door on the wall with the fireplace. Since Mae and Gregg were facing the fireplace directly, the door was to the left, and there was a soft blue leaking out from the door. The only light that was provided in the living room was from the two windows on the wall where the front door was at.  
“Who’s that grandma in the photographs?” Mae asked, forgetting respect, and looking at Don George, who was now leaning against the wall.  
“My wife. She died in a car accident last year.” Don George said, and his eyes were gloomy like he was looking back into the past, at the very moment where he lost her. Gregg shot Mae a look that was very “what the fuck, Mae?”, because she had called her a grandma. “We would always try for kids, but we never conceived. Genevieve wondered what we were doing wrong, but I knew it was me. I always said it wasn’t, because I guess I didn’t want it to be true. I regret not ever telling her, and now I’ll never get to because she’s gone. I’ve always wanted to be a father but it’s hard to even think about it without knowing the big mistake I made.” Don George explained, staring at a blank spot on the floor.  
Gregg suddenly felt an overwhelming sadness come over him. Gone was the little energetic fox who was excited to break shit just a few hours ago. “What was wrong with you, dude?”  
“It was the stress, I think. Work was really doing a number on me.” Don George said, blinking as his eyes stayed glued to the floor. “It wasn’t your average job, but we were helping the town in a big way. At least, that’s what I thought.” He looked up at Gregg, who immediately looked at Mae with a sad face.  
_I can’t believe we’re talking about this guy’s dick problems…_ Mae thought to herself. Clearly, she did not catch on to this guy.  
“So what happened after you realized you weren’t really helping the town?” Gregg asked, looking back at Don George.  
“I quit and got ab-” A loud whistle like sound filled the room, and the trio’s ears twitched. “Oh! Tea’s ready.” The raccoon turned and walked back into the kitchen to prepare the tea. Gregg immediately turned to Mae with a speed that made her jump. When he spoke, his voice was quiet.  
“Mae, are you thinking what I’m thinking?” He asked, with frightened eyes, leaning forward in his seat. Mae blinked slowly with a blank face.  
“That his story is super sad and he needs to stop talking about his dick problems?” Mae said, tilting her head. Gregg sat back and looked calmer.  
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I was thinking.” Gregg nodded. “What kind of guy invites two random people to his house and then talks about how he couldn’t make babies with his wife…? It’s making me feel down and worried that Angus won’t want to adopt…”  
At this, Mae’s eyes widened. “GERGG YOU’RE NOT EVEN MARRIAGE!”  
The fox blushed and looked away. “I’m ignoring the fact that you just called me “Gergg” and… I dunno I kinda always assumed we were going to get married? But now I’m worried about that too, for some reason. I just realized we still have a ways to go, and we haven’t even made it to Bright Harbor yet.” Mae groaned.  
“Ugggh why are you throwing your feelings at me right noooow…” She whined. Gregg gave her a sad look, and she quickly corrected herself. “Sorry, I was just playing. Do you want to find somewhere private we can talk?” Gregg nodded, wishing he didn’t feel so down.  
He was imagining a world without Angus and honestly, it wasn’t pretty. He was sure he’d be depressed, like, all the time, and he probably wouldn’t have the motivation to work as hard as he does? He might even just have a ton of one night stands with random guys he meets, or maybe he’d meet a terrible abusive guy who he becomes too attached to. He’s heard of that happening before. He was sure he might be addicted to something, and he felt like his mood might drive him away from Mae. He’d probably lay on the couch all day and get fat from all the potato chips. He might even die without ever marrying someone or adopting a kid. No, he was sure Angus would be the one. If not, Greggory Lee was doomed. He sunk a bit in his chair. “Ugh…”  
“Did that guy’s story really get to you that bad?” Mae asked, fidgeting a bit.  
“I dunno…” Gregg sighed. “But it sucks.”  
“Yeah, you look like you want to crawl under a rock.”  
“I’m probably just really overthinking shit.” He said. Mae shrugged. Gregg explained the thoughts he was just having, but Mae cut him off halfway through.  
“Woah, woah. Gregg. Gregg. Angus is good.” She said. “And you are good. I thought we discussed this by the pond?”  
“Just because we discussed it d--” He started. Don George came into the room and Gregg sat up in the chair, not wanting to look like a sad dope. He was a bit sadder because he just got interrupted twice by two different people. He decided not to talk.  
“Here you go, guys. I hope you enjoy.” He handed both of them a teacup, each of them creme colored, and about as plain as teacups can get. Inside was the brown liquid, and the steam rose into the air. As Mae was looking into her cup, she felt the heat press against her face. She moved the cup in a circular motion and the liquid inside formed a small whirlpool and the dark tea leaves spun clockwise around the perimeter, settling down a second after the liquid did when Mae stopped moving it. “It’s probably the best tea I have, you guys are lucky.”  
“I love tea,” Mae said. “My grandfather would always share it with me when he read me ghost stories. You kind of remind me of him, Don.”  
“Do I? What was he like?” Don asked. All of them had gotten so caught up in conversation that Mae’s and Gregg’s wounds were left unattended, but since they hadn’t moved much, they barely noticed.  
“He was the best. He always shared his ghost stories with me, and he even let me add some elements to the story. My favorite stories were the Adina stories he told. I loved hearing about the journey Adina took through the woods, looking for the elusive Ghost Star so she could be reunited with her lover. I even liked Asscat, the little shit.” Mae explained, then sipped her tea and made a satisfied face.  
“Oh, wow. That takes me back. The Adina story is a legend.” Don George said. “I used to hang out with a science teacher named Mr. Chazakov and--” Mae gasped.  
“I know him! He used to be my science teacher, and we explored dusk stars together!” She said excitedly.  
“...and he showed me all the dusk stars, but then something happened between us and we stopped talking and hanging out.” Don George finished. “You’re just little balls of energy aren’t you, kids?”  
“Adults!” Mae corrected. “I’m 20 and Gregg is 21. Wait did we even introduce ourselves…?”  
“I don’t think so.” The raccoon said.  
“Well my name is Mae and this is my best friend Gregg.” She said, looking at the fox. “He’s gay.”  
“I see.” Don George said. Meanwhile, Gregg was sitting and sipping his tea quietly.

* * *

 

Mae and Don George talked for hours, but it certainly didn’t seem that way. Gregg was mostly alone with his thoughts, not really paying any attention to them. Don George could tell something was up with him, but he didn’t pry.  
When they had arrived, it was later in the day, as all of Mae’s hangouts are. Now, the sun was down and Mae and Gregg were still sitting in the chairs. It had gotten really hot at some point, so the raccoon brought out a battery powered fan and opened both the windows in the living room. Since they no longer provided light, there were light purple candles lit around the room, and they were scented like lavender. Mae and Gregg were no longer holding the tea cups, as they finished them long ago.  
“You really like that kind of purple, huh?” Mae asked. Don George smiled sadly.  
“It was my wife’s favorite color.” He said.  
_This guy’s just making himself sadder! Why are people like this? Also, I’m hungry._ Mae thought. But before she could say anything about it, Don George spoke up.  
“Excuse me, I have to use the little coon’s room.” He grabbed a candle holder that held one of the lavender candles on one of the window sills, and walked off to the bathroom and shut the door.  
Mae got up and stretched. “Dude, we should explore around and see if we find any cool shit.”  
“Ooh, you think we’ll find any sweet loot?’ Gregg asked, his sadness vanishing at the thought of finding a neat looking bottle cap or old watch. He could use a watch. He stood up and stretched as well. “I want to see what’s in the basement. I bet you fifty bucks it’s dead bodies.”  
“Why do you assume every basement has dead bodies in it?”


	4. Missing Boyfriend Goes Into Stranger's Basement with Cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rip Gregg and Mae

Chapter 4 - Missing Boyfriend Goes Into Stranger's Basement with Cat

Bea was finished with the heater by now, so she was at the Ol’ Pickaxe, once again watching 80s videos on her computer. That was one of the great things about working at the Pickaxe lately. The current video was for Depeche Mode’s “Everything Counts.” Bea had heard this song numerous times, so she went over the lyrics in her head.  
“Bea, *wheeze* Gregg hasn’t come home and *huff* I’m freaking out,” Angus said, walking up to the counter.  
Bea took her headphones out and set them down on her laptop’s keyboard. “Angus? I didn’t even hear or see you come in.” She noticed that his hands were on his knees and he was breathing fast. His fedora slipped off his head and fell to the ground. Bea felt weird looking at the bear without his titular hat. The alligator came out from behind the counter and went over to him. “You okay, big guy?”  
“Not *puff* really. I’m freaking *huff* out!” He said, looking up. He had worried eyes behind his glasses. “I think *wheeze* *wheeze* maybe..”  
“Relax, Angus. Deep breaths. Where’s your inhaler?” Bea asked. The bear reached into his pocket and pulled out his inhaler, sticking into his mouth and pulling the trigger, shooting the medicine into his throat. He stood up and took a deep breath, letting the liquid do its magic.  
“Okay, I’m good…” He said. “But I’m also bad because my boyfriend is missing!”  
“Have you checked Mae’s house yet? They said they were going to hang out there. Maybe he fell asleep or something.” Bea suggested. Angus smiled, filled with hope.  
“I haven’t checked there. I forgot that they were doing that.” Angus said, putting his inhaler back in his pocket.  
“We can check after I lock up in about fifteen minutes,” Bea said. “Unlike you guys, I don’t leave work whenever I want.”  
“I don’t do that!” Angus argued. “Only Gregg does that. I’m surprised, but glad he still has a job.”  
“Like I told Mae, it seems like the world plays by Gregg’s rules,” Bea said. There was a pause. “Do you think he’d be the same if you two never met?”  
Angus shook his head. “Though I love theoretical fantasy situations, I don’t even want to think about a world without Gregg. But he’d probably get himself into the worst trouble imaginable, especially during the time Mae was gone.”  
“But they get into trouble anyway.” Bea pointed out.  
“Yeah, but Mae isn’t...what’s the word...As senseless as Gregg?” Angus said. “Ugh, but that sounds rude to my boyfriend.”  
Bea snorted. “Angus, you do know that Mae, like, runs and jumps on power lines and rooftops?” Does he even know about Gregg’s bipolar depression…? It wasn’t her place to tell him, though.  
“I know, but I just don’t think she’d get Gregg into any deadly situations,” Angus said. “I mean, they’re both still alive and they’ve known each other forever.”  
“That we know of,” Bea said. Angus frowned at her. She averted her eyes. “Sorry.”  
“It’s fine. Just finish up so we can go.” Angus said.  
“Will do.”

* * *

 

_Back at Don George’s house…_

“Ugh, hurry up. I don’t want old Don to shoot us or something.” Mae said, looking down at Gregg. He was on one knee and wiggling a paperclip in the lock to the fancy basement door. He had learned to carry a paperclip with him at all times, thanks to their little visit to the Historical Society.  
“That’s not how it works,” Gregg said, his tongue sticking out in focus. “You can’t believe everything you see in movies and TV.” Mae rolled her eyes.  
“Says the guy that acted like a stereotypical gay when he first came out,” Mae said.  
“...Whatever.” Gregg said, and the lock clicked. “Got it.” He grabbed the brass knob and turned it and pushed the door open, revealing a white wall with nothing on it. The area inside was that of a closet, so Mae and Gregg could walk in.  
“Why does this dude have a closet with nothing in it?” Mae asked, kicking the wall gently.  
“I don’t know. Maybe there’s a secret button somewhere.” Gregg explained, already feeling around the wall. The fancy door had pushed open just so that it was like the left wall of the “closet.” “You gonna help?”  
“You literally just told me not to believe things that happen in TV and movies. Secret buttons are some movie shit.” She crossed her arms, standing to the right of Gregg. He sucked his teeth.  
“Shut up and just help me.” He said. The cat uncrossed her arms and now they were both feeling up the wall. Not even a minute passed when Mae groaned.  
“We’re literally just two idiots rubbing our paws all over this guy’s wall.” She said. Gregg hadn’t stopped. His hands moved to the very left and he felt a crack that he could just barely stick his digits in. Once he could fit four in, he grabbed the door and, walking backward as he pulled it toward them (Mae was also walking back, until she bumped into the wall behind her). The fox shut the door and it was pitch black now, not that it was much brighter before.  
“Yo, Mae, I think there’s more this way. Follow me.” Gregg said, already beginning to walk toward the blackness. He held out his paws in front of him.  
_Did we literally just have to close the door the whole time…_ Mae thought. _At least I got my daily wall feeling in._ “I think I’d rather walk next to you.” She said. “This place gives me familiar vibes…” It was the same eerie feeling she felt in the caves during that one night in the woods. She moved to be next to Gregg. Or maybe it was just cold.  
“Weeeak,” Gregg said. “Do you need to hold my hand too?” He asked in a patronizing voice, nudging her.  
“Stop talking.” Mae huffed. Not even five seconds later, they were falling and rolling down a wooden staircase, grunting and groaning as pain once again coursed through their unlucky bodies. They hit the concrete floor, and Mae felt something heavy on her back. “Ow ow ow get off get off get off!” She shouted. Gregg rolled off of her, groaning.  
“I know I don’t say it, like, ever...But fuck that hurt.” He said. Everything HURT once again. “Maybe the universe is trying to tell us that we shouldn’t have gone against Angus’ will…”  
“Bitch I told you,” Mae said. “Besides...Do you even believe in that?” She was looking up at the ceiling.  
“What?” Gregg asked, also looking at the ceiling.  
“You know, like, Karma?” Mae asked.  
“Well, it makes sense. You do some bad shit and bad things will happen to you.” Gregg explained.  
“I believe that’s called bad luck,” Mae said. “My luck machine is just acting janky today.”  
“Your what?”  
“Nothing.” She never wanted to move again, but she’s a cat and her curiosity got the best of her. She winced and struggled to get up, but eventually was successful. She held her stomach (something had collided with it while falling down the stairs), looking down in the general direction of Gregg. “Dude, there’s like...No air conditioning down here, you’re going to die if you just stay there.”  
Gregg put his arm over his face. He sighed. “Okay, one sec.” It took more than a second, but he got up eventually. “I’m ready, I guess.” He held his head. “God, I have a headache.”  
“Mm, you sure you don’t want to just get out of here?” Mae asked. “I seriously don’t want to get hurt anymore.”  
“We’re already here, let’s just do it,” Gregg said. He thought about what might be down here and smiled, and even though his head was killing him, he was somehow invigorated to continue.  
“I’m gonna go up the stairs, you can mess around down here,” Mae said. Her bed was sounding really incredible in her head right now. Or, any bed, really. She began walking and slowly ascending the staircase.  
Gregg listened to her steps and the creak of the old wood for a bit, his ears twitching. He held his head as he walked forward.  
At the top of the stairs, Mae returned to the area where they did their wall business, and once again, started feeling around for the doorknob (on the opposite wall, of course). She felt it in her paw and tried turning it, but it wouldn’t budge. “Shit shit shit shit shit.” She cursed. The bastard locked us in here! But in reality, he was still in the bathroom, distracted by videos and articles on his phone. But he had heard that the duo wanted to steal some of his crap. Mae groaned. “Can this day get any worse?” Suddenly, there was a huge crashing noise and a very girly scream from somewhere in the basement. Mae knew that scream anywhere. “Gregg? Are you okay?” She called.  
“My nose is definitely bleeding and I tripped over some kind of table! I think it had a bunch of paper on it?” He called. “I fell in a way that it didn’t hurt too much, though! I’m coming!”  
“You can’t, Don locked us in!” Mae explained. A very clearly frustrated sound from the fox made Mae’s ears twitch.  
“Are you serious!?” He groaned.  
“No, Gregg, I’m not serious. I obviously got the door open and left like I said.” Mae sighed. “I’m coming back down.” So she descended the steps again. She made sure to keep one hand on the wall, as the other stayed around her stomach. She followed along the wall and felt something small poke her middle finger. “Gregg, I think I found the light switch!”  
There was an excited sound and then an “oh shit” and then the sound of glass shattering on the cold, concrete floor. Mae paid no attention to this as she flipped the switch and the light flickered on. Gregg was looking at her, his grey Boyfriend Material shirt covered with dirt and a few holes. His nose was definitely bleeding and his muzzle was caked red. In front of him were a few shards of glass and the metal part of a light bulb. A light buzzing noise filled the room. “I thought he said there wasn’t electricity way out here…” Gregg muttered. He looked down at his feet, looking at the smashed bulb.  
Mae looked at one of the lights. It was like one of those light bulbs sticking out of the wall that had a small cage on it. “I honestly don’t know what to believe now…” She moved her eyes to what actually filled the basement. “Woah, Gregg. Look.” She pointed with her free hand.  
Gregg moved his head and his ears perked. “What the--” He blinked, studying what he was seeing.  
“Well, at least it isn’t dead bodies,” Mae said.

* * *

 

Stan Borowski was home at this hour. About forty-six minutes ago he had fallen asleep after an episode of Garbo and Malloy. This episode was about some explosion in the woods that collapsed an old well or something, but Stan was too tired to really pay much attention to it. He grew curious where his daughter, Mae, could be. She was usually home by now. But eventually his tiredness got the best of him and the big cat dozed off.  
He awoke to a sudden knock at the door. He had begun to drool a bit and wiped it off, wondering why he did such a childish thing. It didn’t take long for him to get to the door and unlock it. When he opened it, he saw the blank face of Beatrice Santello and the worried face of Angus Delaney.  
“Oh wow. Haven’t seen you kids in a while.” Stan said, smiling. “How’s your dad, Angus?” Angus made a sour face, and Stan noticed this.  
“Uh...He’s fine, sir.” Angus said, averting his gaze. He was obviously lying. Angus didn’t know where his dad was or if he was alive. Frankly, he didn’t care.  
“I’m 20, Mr. Borowski,” Bea said.  
“One day you’ll understand that you’ll always be the kids to us,” Stan said. “Come in.” He stepped to the side and the alligator and the bear walked in. Bea had her dummy cigarette in her mouth, and Stan shut the door. “Bea, would you kindly not smoke inside the house?”  
“Does it really look that real?” She murmured quietly. “It’s a dummy, Mr. Borowski. I’m trying to quit.”  
“Oh. Well, good for you!” Stan said. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this surprise visit?”  
Angus was already sitting on the couch, and Bea was still standing next to the doorway. “Well, Mae and Gregg are finally hanging out like normal people.” She explained. “I thought they’d be here, maybe.”  
Angus turned his head and looked at her. “I thought you said they said they were going to hang out here.”  
“Relax, big guy. I didn’t make it up. Mae told me in Messenger.” Bea said. She turned to Stan. “So, are they here?”  
“Not that I know of. You can check Mae’s room, though.” Stan said. He trusted Mae’s friends not to make too much of a mess. Well, he trusted Bea and Angus, specifically.  
“Thank you, Mr. Borowski,” Angus said, standing up and already heading toward the staircase. Bea watched him go. “Gregg is never this late to show up, and if so he would tell Angus. They have surprisingly good communication.”  
“Ah, I see. Yeah, Mae is usually home by now, but I haven’t heard anything from her. Maybe they went to sleep early or something.”  
“We are talking about the same people right?” Bea asked. This got a chuckle from the big cat.  
“Tell me if you find anything.” He said, heading toward the couch. Honestly, it was more comfortable than the bed at times.  
“I will,” Bea said, moving and heading up after Angus.

* * *

 

The bear was already in the room, sitting on the bed with his face in his paws. “They’re not here.” He whined. “What if something happened to them?”  
“I’m sure they’re fine, Angus,” Bea said. She looked around the room at Mae’s posters and spotted her computer next to Angus. “Maybe if we can see her chat with Gregg…”  
Angus’ ears perked up. “I bet I know her password too.” He said, grabbing her computer and putting it in his lab. The background was a picture of all of them they took recently. Angus looked at Gregg’s beautiful face and felt determined. The login box sat in front of him, the cursor blinking, waiting for him to type.  
“Really?” Bea asked. “She told you?” Angus shook his head and began typing.  
“Well, not directly.” He said. The login was successful. Angus smiled. “We had a conversation, and I guessed from that. I think the little pizza cursor she has is pretty Mae.” Bea came and sat to the right of Angus. The bed was just barely big enough to fit both of them. The alligator looked at the screen.  
“Donut Wolf background?” She blinked. “Isn’t that place, like, dangerous to her health.”  
“I’m sure it’s dangerous to anyone’s health. Anyway, she, Gregg, and I went to Donut Wolf last week and she did not have a good time. I wonder why she kept it.” Angus said, moving the pizza around in little circles.  
“Yeah. Alright, open Gregg’s chat so we can finish this.” Bea said, looking at the little Palecat icon for Demontower. It was cute. Angus moved the cursor over to Gregg’s chat icon (Angus chuckled a bit at Gregg’s apparently not fascist hat) and clicked it, then messed around a bit so the chat would appear like a regular messaging app. He scrolled up and started at the first message of the day.

Gregg: Yo Mea r u redy2 break sum glassss  
Mae: But Angus  
Gregg: It’ll be fine, he’s cool. Plus, he won’t find out.  
Mae: Mm, I dunno. Angus is like God. He sees all.  
Gregg: C’mon I’ve been like super depressed lately I need to do something exciting!  
Gregg: And also that’s exaggerating  
Gregg: The Angus thing, I mean.  
Gregg: ???  
Gregg: Mae come back I’m booored  
Gregg: Pls I will do art for u  
Gregg: :’(  
Mae: I was getting a sandwich ho  
Mae: And nooo I know what you mean by art  
Gregg: U luv it  
Mae: Says the gay  
Gregg: Heck yeah I love it. And ur pan  
Gregg: Please. Break. Glass. With. Me.  
Mae: Can’t we just smash light bulbs again?  
Gregg: I don’t hvae anyyy and I wanna do something neewww  
Gregg: I promise Angus won’t find out it and it’ll be the funnest thing you’ve ever done  
Mae: Promise?  
Gregg: Yasss queen  
Mae: Then heck yeah, let’s go break some shit!  
Gregg: AWOOOOOOOO!!!  
Mae: AWOOOOOOOO!!!  
Gregg: I’ll be at the Snalcon. Got cups on my ears, again.  
Mae: Well, the ocean is pretty calming, I guess.  
Gregg: U kno, porn can be pretty calming  
Mae: I thought it was the opposite

  
“Okay I’m uncomfortable and it’s clear to me it doesn’t take much to convince Mae to do something,” Bea said.  
“You just realized that now?” Angus said, then groaned.”Ughhh they went to the glass factory even though Gregg said he wouldn’t.” He looked sad. “I hope he didn’t get cut or hurt or impaled.”  
“That’s a little vivid,” Bea said. “I’m sure they’re totally fine. The most they’ll have is some cuts.”  
“Sorry...I’ll try to stop being so morbid,” Angus said. “It’s just when Gregg is out there...”  
“I know, I know.” She stood up. “Let’s get to that factory, shall we?” Angus closed the laptop and stood up, smiling at her.  
“We shall.”

 

 


	5. The Pain Continues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> RIP GREGG AND MAE

Chapter 5 - The Pain Continues

“Someone has issues…” Mae said, looking at the sight before her. Gregg blinked and looked at everything he was seeing.

“Geez, yeah. I’ve never seen this much pictures in one place.” He was walking toward a table that was closest to him. “It’s like he cut a bunch of pictures from things and then put them on these papers. It reminds me of that old trading card game you and I used to play as a kid.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me. We were such nerds back then.” Mae said.

“Yeah, we’re bad boys now,” Gregg commented, looking through photos.

“Everyone knows I’m the baddest boy,” Mae said. These comments only had half the energy as usual though because they were in pain.

“Yeah,” Gregg said. One hand was on his head as it was still hurting from the fall earlier. He kept looking through these mysterious papers. They each had a different image on them. One with a weird looking thing in the sky, one with something strange peeking from behind a tree, one with an unusual looking rock, it goes on and on. There were hundreds of the strange papers. As the fox dug through, numerous of them fell on the ground, and Mae watched them fall. Gregg felt his heart skip a beat when he came to the bottom of the pile.

“Holy shit…” He said, grabbing a picture and looking at it. He couldn’t tell if his aching head was playing tricks on him or not. Was that really...no, it couldn’t be. But it was! “Dude, what’s my boyfriend doing here?” He asked, looking at Mae, holding up the picture of Angus leaving the video store.

Mae blinked, instantly recognizing the green sweater he wears constantly. “What the...Angus? Why does Don have a picture of Angus?” She moved to get even closer and it was a very clear image of the bear walking out of the door of the Video Outpost “Too”, unaware that he was being stalked. “First the dick problems, then the electricity, the basement door locking, and now this? I think we’re going to be murdered or something.” Gregg looked at her and blinked.

“What do dicks literally have to do with anything we are talking about,” Gregg said as more of a statement than a question. He handed the paper to Mae for further studying as he himself began looking through more images. “Selmers, Bea’s dad, that one bird dude on the porch, are all the residents of Possum Springs here…?” He kept sorting through. “Look! He got me at the moment where I sneezed and hit my head on the counter!” He said, frustrated. He held up a picture of a blurry Gregg sneezing, his face scrunched up and looking very attractive, his head diving toward the flat surface of the Snack Falcon counter. “He even wrote “this image sucks” on it! This is like the worst picture of me ever! Why is this the one he chose to keep?” The fox was frowning.

A moment passed and Mae looked up. “Oh, sorry. I wasn’t paying attention. I was reading the notes he wrote about Angus.” Mae said. “He really got it down to the mark. Cooking, gaming, has a boyfriend named Gregg, works at the Video Outpost “Too”, doesn’t believe in God...There’s a little green check stamped up here.” She explained, flipping the picture and pointing to show Gregg the little check mark stamp at the top right of the paper. Gregg studied it and then his eyes glided up to Mae’s. On the back of the paper, there was more writing.

“What do you think it means?” He asked. Mae shook her head.

“What do you think any of this shit means?” She asked. “I literally have no answers for you, Gregg. Let’s see if we can find Bea and me.”

“I was already looking for you guys,” Gregg said. He picked up a paper and made a sour face. “He even got Jen, that bastard. She doesn’t even live here!”

“Man, he has like everything about Angus on here. There’s even a “Strange Qualities” section.” Mae said.

“He doesn’t have any strange qualities, that anyone but I would know,” Gregg said casually, still dropping papers as he searched.

“Hahaha.”

“What?”

“It says he’s too precious,” Mae said. “I can’t tell if this guy is being serious about all this.”

“You have to be pretty serious about something to have a basement full of it,” Gregg said.

“Do you have a basement full of donuts?” Mae asked.

“Mae, you know I’d rob a store and cut a bitch just for the love of donuts.” He responded. “Ooh! Here’s Bea.”

“Ooh, really? What’s her picture like?” Mae asked, looking up from the Angus paper she was still studying.

“It looks like she’s just willingly in the photo, but she isn’t smiling,” Gregg said. “That’s weird right?”

“What part of this is normal, Greggory.” Mae commented, looking at one of the notes under the “Strange Qualities” section. “Hey! Having a fake cigarette in your mouth ninety percent of the time is perfectly normal for someone who is trying to quit.”  
}There was also a green check stamped to Bea’s paper too.

“Damn, I can’t find you, and I feel like I’ve looked at everything,” Gregg said. “Also, I just realized this, but I think the reason Don didn’t care about us introducing ourselves was that he already knew who we were. That’s spooky and I wish I had my knife or something.”

“Ooh yeah, I wonder if--”

“Found Germ!” Gregg interrupted. He showed the paper to Mae.

“It’s stamped twice,” Mae noted, pointing. She wasn’t wrong, the paper was deliberately stamped twice in the same corner. “And there are a lot of question marks on here.”

“Maybe he’s just too weird for the oldie to handle,” Gregg said. “I wonder why he has two stamps though.”

“I dunno, but I’m gonna look around at more shit, it would be wicked if he had DNA samples from all of us.” She commented. “Then we would know it’s just a movie.”

“Since when has a real-life situation ever just been a movie…” Gregg wondered aloud.

“Well--” Very suddenly, there was a sharp rapping on the door. Mae looked at Gregg, who shrugged. They had gotten so caught up in everything that their pain was like a faint echo now. Mae craned her neck toward the noise. “Uh...Who is iiiit?” She called.

“This is the police, open up!” A stern voice shouted.

* * *

 

“Are you going to break up with him?” Bea asked, watching the bare trees as they passed by. The steady hum of the car and the sound of the wind was all the duo could hear. She turned her head to look at Angus, who was driving.

“I don’t think I’d ever have the strength for that,” Angus said. “Not after he saved me.”

“Do you really believe Gregg of all people saved you?” Bea asked, her arms crossed. Angus immediately frowned. He definitely didn’t like what she just said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He asked. Bea was looking out the window again, so she didn’t notice how upset the bear had gotten in those few seconds.

“You know, because he’s-”

“Because he’s what? Wild and crazy? That’s called being fun, Beatrice. Oh, but you wouldn’t know, I guess. Gregg has a lot of shit going on and we’re working our asses off to move to Bright Harbor and he’s already really stressed because it’s really hard for him to work so much. He’s more than just a crazy fox. He’s actually an incredible guy. I think you need to watch your mouth before you say something about my boyfriend.” Angus growled. “My parents abused me to shit, and the world seemed like it was going to end. I barely talked or ate, I slept all the time, my friends were really worried about me, I disappeared for days, and there were some vivid thoughts going through my mind, like, really dark thoughts. Then, Gregg came into the picture and it was like there was a light in the blackness, and ever since then, I’ve been happy. He puts a lot of effort into our relationship and when we argue he’s always the one to apologize. You don’t understand how much he means to me and I would rather die than lose him.” He explained. “So yes. _He_ of all people saved me. Don’t be so surprised. Gregg is awesome and I love him to death.”

“I can be fun!” Bea argued.

“Shut up,” Angus said, realizing how shitty that response was. “Don’t talk to me.” Bea looked at him, realizing that was the wrong thing to say.

“Oh shit Angus I’m-- I didn’t mean--” She looked forward and stared at the road.

They drove on in silence. What more was there to say?

* * *

 

“Aw, dammit I wanted to see what all this other shit was.” Mae frowned.

“Quick, grab as many papers as you can and let’s see if we can get that door open!” Gregg said, shoving papers into all of his pockets.

“What door?” Mae asked, beginning to grab papers.

“That red one over there,” Gregg said, pointing as he shoved a paper in his pocket. Mae turned her head and noticed a red door on the far wall. It was like one of those hatch doors you see on ships.

“Wow, I didn’t see that before,” Mae said. She kept putting papers in her pockets, but they could only fit so much before she and Gregg ran to the door. She immediately tried turning the wheel, but it wouldn’t budge. “Gregg, help me with this.”

Gregg came forward and now they both tried turning it with all their strength, their muscles screaming in pain from everything that’s happened today. Luckily, it began turning and it was only a matter of time before they got it open and were running down a cold hallway. At the end, they reached a ladder that led upward.

“Ugh, what do we do?” Gregg groaned.

“Gonna have to climb this, I guess,” Mae said, already getting ready.

“Mae, I think we should seriously go to the hospital,” Gregg said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been in this much pain before...Physically.”

“Well, we’re kinda busy running from the cops,” Mae said, never thinking they would really do that.

“Yeah. Why are we doing that again? We could literally tell him about this guy stalking the town.” Gregg said.

“But we don’t trust cops remember?” Mae said. “Eff the cops! Also, I just don’t want to get into all that.” She started climbing. Gregg followed behind her.

“That makes sense. To be honest, I think I’m so exhausted and in pain that my adrenaline is going to get me to my bed and then I’ll wake up tomorrow and today will have just been fake.” The fox explained. “Like, I _really_ don’t want to have to deal with anything anymore tonight.”

“Exactly,” Mae said. They climbed, but everything hurt so badly they had to take several breaks, and it wasn’t even a very long climb. When they got to the trap door at the top, Mae pushed the lever to unlock it and, using the strength she didn’t know she still had, she pushed it open. The night sky was visible past the waving leaves of the trees.

“Hurry up and get out, I’m ready for freedom,” Gregg said. “And my boyfriend.”

“Alright, alright, I’m going.” Mae started climbing out. “You sure you have enough energy for that?”

“Yeah, I can get out, but it might be the last thing I ever do,” Gregg said.

“No, I mean, for Angus. I would think having--”

“Oh my god Mae I didn’t mean I’m ready to have sex.” Gregg groaned, wondering how he was still holding on to the ladder. Endorphins, maybe.

“Oh, uh, yeah, I knew that,” Mae said, fully climbing out and laying face down in the grass. “Mmmmmmmmph…” Then she died.

Gregg began to crawl out of the square-shaped hole after her, also groaning. “Why...why would I want that...I probably would...just pass out in the middle of it…” He huffed. He successfully got out and looked around, noticing the blue and red flashing lights from the cop cars. He looked at Mae, who was still lying down. “Let’s...Never do anything again…”

Mae sat up and brushed some dirt and grass off. “I agree, I never want to do anything physical in my life.”

At that moment, a white light flashed on them, and someone shouted “Hey!”

“Shit, let’s get out of here!” Gregg said, grabbing Mae by the arm as he began to run off into the trees. It took a moment for Mae to get going, but soon they were both running through the woods.

* * *

 

A little while later they came across a creek. They could only tell there was water there because of the wavy reflections of the stars and the moon.

“I think we can *huff* stop,” Gregg said, his hands on his knees. “I am very confused as to how I’m still alive.”

“Dolphins, dude,” Mae said. “Dolphins.” She knew the correct term, but dolphins was more fun to say.

“I didn’t ask why I could keep running. I’m very sure that my nose blood has stained my fur.” Gregg said, rubbing under his nose.

“At least they’re not chasing us anymore.” Mae smiled at him. Except she was wrong, and she heard the voices of two different people coming. Her ears twitched as she and Gregg looked toward the noise, spotting the white lights in the distance. “Damn my round body! Making me slow.” She huffed.

“Yeah, well, let’s hide,” Gregg said. “Follow my lead. I read this in a book once.” He began to walk toward the water.

“There’s no way you read a book,” Mae said, following close behind.

“Fine, I heard this from a book Angus read me.” Gregg sighed. “Let’s hope it’s deep enough.”

“Oh my g o d I hate everything about this,” Mae complained. “I’m not hiding in the water.”

“Okay then. Have fun getting caught.” Gregg said. He was in a bad mood. He stepped into the water and it went up to his ankles, then his knees, until he was fully swimming.

Mae watched, wondering what to do. She looked behind her and saw that the lights were getting closer. “Shit.” She cursed, deciding to follow Gregg into the water. They both swam to the middle and floated there, listening the voices grow closer and the light’s grow brighter. “We’re so lucky our crime days have taught us how to swim or I would probably drown. Which would be fine right now…”

“I’m so done with life today,” Gregg said. “Shit, here they come. Dive, dive, dive!”

“I’m going to kill you for making a cat go underwater,” Mae said. Of course, Gregg didn’t hear it because he was already going underwater. She dove down as well, holding her breath and making sure not to create too many bubbles.

There was actually no need to get into the water, though. The police didn’t continue in the direction of the creek. So the fox and the cat just stayed underwater for as long as they could, then swam to the surface.

“Okay okay okay let’s get out now,” Gregg said, but Mae didn’t really hear as it was covered by the sounds of his splashing.

 _Come to think of it, how come they didn’t hear our splashing…_ Mae wondered. She once again followed Gregg until they got out of the creek, sopping wet. They started walking again.

* * *

 

“So where are we going?” Mae asked.

“I don’t even know. Anywhere but the woods. I think it’s safe to say I hate the woods.” Gregg grumbled. Their clothes were still damp and heavy, and their muscles were aching.

“Ugh, ditto,” Mae said. They walked for a few more minutes and finally came to a road. “Yes! We can follow this and get back to town!”

“Except now the police will be looking for us, so can we really?” Gregg commented.

“I hate you,” Mae said.

Meanwhile, two bright headlights appeared in the distance.

* * *

Back at Don George's house, a picture of Mae Borowski is taken from the wall. It has three green check mark stamps.


	6. Together Again

 Chapter 6 - Together Again

“Angus! Look!” Bea pointed to a fox and a cat standing in the middle of the road. The fox was holding his head and the cat was holding her stomach, and it looked like they could collapse at any second. The bear couldn’t see any of the bruises and cuts up close, but he could tell the duo was injured.  
“Oh my god oh my god oh my god they look hurt Bea what are we gonna do that’s *huff* my *wheeze* boyfriend!” Angus freaked. He huffed and wheezed, his anxiety taking control.  
“Focus on driving, big guy. I’m sure they’re fine.” Bea said. “We’re almost there.”  
“O-okay…” Angus took a deep breath before the asthma got too bad.  
Gregg nudged Mae. “Look! Look! It’s Bea’s car!” He said excitedly. Mae made a very annoyed cat sound.  
“I see that, Gregg. Now stop nudging me.” She said, looking away because the brights of the car were, well, bright. She was so done with tonight. The car quickly pulled up next to them, Angus unlocked the doors so they could hop in.  
Mae was first to run and get in the car. Gregg came soon after. They both leaned against the sides of the car, the injuries visible to the two animals in the front seat. “Let’s get out of here.” Mae said.  
“What the hell happened to you, Gregg!?” Angus asked, turning around. He looked angry, which was a problem because Angry Angus was not fun to be around. “Where were you!? Do you know I’ve been trying to call you and look for you!?”  
Gregg’s ears flattened. “Sorry, Cap’n, I--”  
“You what? You what Gregg? You’re sorry that you completely went against my wishes and went to that fucking glass factory, even though you told me you’d do something normal?” Angus growled.  
Oh boy, he used the F word...This is bad… Mae thought, listening to the two. She would be watching, but the pain was too much to even move now.  
Gregg winced when Angus used the word. “I just wanted to--”  
“You know what? I don’t even want to hear all the excuses you have. You’re sleeping on the couch tonight.” Angus said.  
“Nooooooooo!” Gregg cried. “Not the couch, Angus! I need the bed!”  
“I actually think we should probably take them to the hospital.” Bea interjected. “They seem like they’re in really bad shape, Angus.” To this, Mae sat up.  
“Nooooooooo! She cried. “Not the hospital, Bea! I need the bed!”  
Bea frowned. “Okay yeah they’re fine. Let’s go home.”  
“Tell me what happened to you, right now, Greggory Lee.” Angus demanded. Gregg was moping about having to sleep on the couch and he didn’t answer his boyfriend. Angus sat back, huffing. “Whatever.” He made a U-Turn and started driving back to Possum Springs.  
“Wait, wait!” Gregg yelped. Angus slammed on the breaks and the car came to a screeching stop.  
“What, what!” Angus asked, everyone looking at him. Gregg sunk back in his seat and looked away. “Um, we kinda...ran away from the cops...” To this, Angus frowned even more.  
“You have got to be kidding me, guys.” Bea said. “Why would you do a stupid thing like that?”  
“We didn’t want to deal with all the shit.” Mae piped up.  
“Well, sometimes you just have to deal with shit you don’t want to deal with!” Angus almost shouted. “I don’t want to have to deal with my damn family, but I do it every year because I have to.”  
“Angus, calm down…” Gregg said. “It’ll be okay. We can work it out.”  
“Don’t talk to me.” Angus said. “All of you people, tonight. You’re getting on my last nerve. Let’s just go home so I can go to bed.” He started driving once again.  
“What are we going to do about the cops?” Mae asked. But no one said anything.

* * *

 

They arrived in front of Mae’s house. The cat looked and saw that the light was on in the living room. “My parents are still awake? That’s a surprise. They’re usually asleep by now.” No one said a word. “Uh, goodnight?” Mae said, looking at everyone and waiting for someone to say literally anything. Still nothing. Mae opened the door. “Well, um, bye.” She shut the door and went inside.  
Angus exhaled kind of loudly, signifying he wasn’t even a little calmed down. Bea turned her head to face him after watching Mae walk inside. “Why are you mad at her? I can see why you’re mad at Gregg, but you shouldn’t be mad at Mae. You know she’s easily convinced.” Angus removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes.  
“I’m not mad at her, Bea. I’m just mad at the situation. And Gregg.” He explained. “Also I’m really tired.”  
“You said it.” Bea looked out the window at Mae’s house. The light that was on flickered off, leaving blackness behind the window. “Let’s get you guys home.”  
Angus didn’t need to be told twice. He started toward Bea’s apartment. He was thinking about all the times Gregg didn’t listen to his wishes (which was a lot). It only made him angrier though, so he tried to think of the times Gregg _did_ listen to him. It didn’t really help. It was more often than not that the fox didn’t listen.  
Gregg was slumped in the backseat. He was not looking forward to sleeping on the couch at all. Everybody knows you sleep better if you’re cuddling with a big, soft bear. It’s a problem if that big, soft bear is pissed at you, though. Then that means you have to lay on the skinny, uncomfortable couch. Which sucks. He wished he had some cups. Those seemed to calm him down. Maybe it would work for Angus…

* * *

 

“Have a good night, guys.” Bea said, sitting in the driver’s seat of her car now. She had moved when Angus and Gregg got out when they arrived at their apartment. Gregg was already on the porch of the complex, looking down at an ant. He had the urge to kill it, but he just wasn’t feeling like being mischievous. The bear waved at Bea and then turned around and walked to the front door to the lobby.  
Bea got out a real cigarette and stuck it in her mouth. She lit it and then started going back toward her apartment. She hoped her dad wouldn’t see her smoking a real cig, last time he caught her there was a lot of arguing. She was just too stressed to not smoke right now.  
It didn’t take long for Bea to get to the building (she wouldn’t necessarily call this place home), and when she got out of the car the black smoke from her cigarette rose into the starry sky. She looked up at the window of her apartment and noticed the Arnold Applebaum statue next to it. She really didn’t like the way the head was positioned in such a way that it was like Old Arnold was staring right into her window. She had meant to call someone to maybe move it, even though she doubted that they would change a historic piece of art.  
The alligator sat and smoked for a bit, then disposed of the cigarette and went inside. Honestly, she wasn’t surprised her father was already asleep when she came home. He at least trusted her enough to not be worrying about her being home past nine. He had left the television on, so Bea went over and turned it off and went into her room.  
It had been a long day and she didn’t waste any time lying on the bed and listening and humming along to some music in her playlist. Before long, she passed out, boots and music still on.

 

 


	7. Home is Good, Home is Bad, Home Could Be Better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Group is finally home!

Chapter 7 - Home is Good, Home is Bad, Home Could Be Better 

  _Earlier…_

 “Well, um, bye,” Mae said, shutting the door of Bea’s car. She turned around, frowning, and started walking to the front door of her house. Why did Angus have to be so mad at Gregg? _I mean, maybe he did go against Angus’ will, again… But Gregg had a ton of shit happen to him and he’s hurt, so you’d think Angus would be merciful. I thought boyfriends were supposed to make you feel better…_ She dug in her pockets for her key. _I hope everything will be okay between them. Angus is too nice to do anything that extreme, right? Plus, all that stuff about “God never found me, but Gregg did” is full proof they will be together forever. Shit, where is it?_

Bea’s car was still there. She knew because she hadn’t heard it drive off. That meant everyone was watching her, and that made her feel awkward. But her exhaustion beat her feelings of awkwardness.

She lifted her paw to bang on the door and shout to her parents how much she needed her bed or she was going to collapse and die, but Stan opened the door and saw his wreck of a daughter standing there.

“Margaret Borowski, get your tail in here right-- Oh my goodness are you okay? Get in here! Go sit on the couch and I’ll make you some tea and get you a nice blanket.” He said, already starting to move.

“Thanks, mom.” Mae joked. Good. She wasn’t close to dead yet. The cat slowly walked in and reached the couch, collapsing onto it. “Mmmph…” She mumbled that it felt so good, but it was inaudible to anyone but herself.

She heard the creak of one of the steps on the stairs (It had always annoyed her, so she stepped over it every time). She had had a talk with her parents specifically about _not_ stepping that step, but it seems like they didn’t get the memo. But right now, it was a comforting noise. She was home.

Mae heard some talking from the kitchen, recognizing the voices of her parents. She smiled a bit, never wanting to move. This feeling increased when the softest blanket they owned was thrown over her.

“Mae, honey, we were worried sick! Remember the deal we made after the incident?” Candy Borowski, Mae’s mother, asked after tossing the blanket over her daughter. It was just a baby blue blanket they’ve had ever since Mae was little, but it was the softest thing they owned.

“I know, mom. Can we talk about it later?” Mae asked, her eyes closed. Mae’s mom sat on the other side of the couch, seeing as Mae was small enough to fit only one.

“Can we talk about it now? Remember the _other_ deal we made after the incident?” Candy said, looking at her husband make tea in the kitchen. She felt bad for Mae because bad tea is not what she needed. Stan can make tea, but that’s it. He can physically make tea. She took a moment to ask herself, why the hell isn’t she making the tea?  Oh well. Suffer more, poor daughter.

“Yeah…” Mae said. “But it’s a long story and I’m too exhausted to even think right now,” Mae said.

Candy sighed. “Are you dying?”

“No.”

“Are you bleeding out?”

“No…”

“Do you need a doctor?”

“I don’t think so. Mom, I’m fine, I just need rest.” Mae said. “It’s been a really long day. Seven chapters worth.”

“What?” Candy asked.

“Nothing,” Mae said. Her mom just assumed it was Mae being Mae. Which means she was indeed fine.

“Alright. We’ll talk more tomorrow morning. Get some rest.” She got up and kissed Mae’s head, and then left back to her room. In the short time between her mother leaving and the tea being ready, Mae had fallen asleep. Her last thought before passing out was if Angus and Gregg were doing okay.

* * *

 

_Earlier…_

 Gregg was not doing okay. He thought he was a piece of shit before? Well, he really thought so now. It was like depression times ten. He was very much doubting that he was the guy for Angus at the moment. You should never make your boyfriend so mad that he doesn’t talk to you.

It was moments like this that made Gregg feel the most real. Like a reality check. Everything with Angus seemed so surreal and imaginary, like one of those dreams where you finally get that cake you’ve been craving, but you wake up and, poof, cake gone. Of course, Gregg hadn’t woken up, but he was afraid he would at any time.

The more and more he effed up, the more and more he felt like Angus was closer to leaving him. He believed Angus would do it if he messed up a certain amount of times.

Gregg hated himself right now. What was wrong with him!? Why did he have to want to go to that stupid glass factory so badly? It was pointless! There was literally nothing there for him but spending time with Mae. Is that what made it worth it? Mae? She was his best friend. He really loved hanging out. Plus, he always felt like he owed her for coming out as gay when they started dating back then…

He shuddered. Why did he ever ask her out? Was it because he was so sure of how straight he was, denying the feelings he felt for another one of their friends? Was it because he genuinely liked her at the time? Was it because teenage hormones are a bitch? Whatever the reason, it happened. And she said yes? He didn’t believe Mae was capable of those kinds of feelings until then. Ugh, serious thoughts. He shook his head and tried thinking of something else, like Angus. It sort of helped. Also, why hadn’t the car moved yet? Gregg wasn’t looking out the window, he was just looking down at nothing in particular.

“Why are you mad at her? I can see why you’re mad at Gregg, but you shouldn’t be mad at Mae. You know she’s easily convinced.” He heard Bea say to Angus.

“I’m not mad at her, Bea. I’m mad at the situation.” Angus said, causing Gregg’s ears to perk. Maybe everything would be okay! “And Gregg.” He added. The fox deflated. Maybe not. “Also, I’m really tired.” He finished. That didn’t help the fox’s feelings, though. Things were not going to be okay.

“You said it,” Bea said. Gregg wanted to cry. “Let’s get you guys home.”

Gregg felt the car start to move and considered jumping out and running off, but he knew that would just make the situation one hundred times worse. He was so unhappy with how the whole day turned out. He felt sick, honestly. His head was still aching and even the couch sounded okay now.

The fox desperately longed for cups to put on his ears. He just wanted to close his eyes and let the sound of the ocean carry him away to anywhere else. He thought for a moment and wondered how cups would affect Angus’ mood...

He had completely forgotten about the papers and images of the residences of Possum Springs that filled his pockets.

* * *

 

They pulled up to Gregg and Angus’ apartment, and Gregg, now looking out the window, gulped. He couldn’t stand the thought of having to face Angus alone. But in the end, relationships are about communication. Even someone like Gregg new that. So he got out, not even telling Bea goodbye, and walked to the porch, looking down, thinking of what he’d say to the angry bear he was dating.

He spotted an ant and thought about crushing it, but he didn’t have any motivation. Why did everything have to suck so much right now?

He told himself it could be much worse, and that was true. He was still alive and standing, so he would make it. He’s Greggory Lee, God damn it! He wouldn’t let this terrible night ruin his wonderful relationship. A new wave of confidence surged through him. They _can_ work it out!

He heard the sound of Bea’s car drive off, and felt the presence of Angus approaching. He took a breath and sighed. Angus opened the door and they walked into the lobby. Gregg stayed quiet, still in thought. Angus wasn’t saying anything either. What was there to say?

They took the elevator up to their apartment and it was no surprise that the door was unlocked. Gregg felt a hint of worry that made things worse, but he was still confident he could patch things up between them. They walked in and Gregg shut the door.

“So Angus…” He started. “I just wanted to tell you—“ The bear turned around quickly and Gregg was taken aback.

“I don’t want to hear it, Gregg. I’m tired and exhausted and really pissed that you went against my will.” Angus explained. “There are some blankets in the closet over there and you can use the pillow from our room.”

 _He said our room. That means it can’t be that bad,_ Gregg thought. “Okay.” He said. “But can I please explained what happened?”

Angus sighed. “Fine.” He was removing his tie and hat, as he usually did when he got home for the night. Gregg watched, smiling a bit. He knew Angus would at least listen to him.

“So...You know how you told us to hang out like normal people?” Gregg started. Angus nodded. “Well I thought about it and I was positive that it would be boring, so I figured out about this cool treehouse that people hang out in, and I wanted to take Mae there because someone told me the people there are cool. And I was like “they can’t be cooler than us, we gotta show these fools,” so I planned to take Mae there. I told her that it was the glass factory because I wanted it to be a surprise.” He explained.

“Why not just tell her the truth?” Angus asked.

“Because, Angus. Then it wouldn’t be a surprise.” Gregg said. The bear rolled his eyes and shrugged. “Anyway, we were on my bike on the way over there, but we ended up hitting this rock and falling. Then, this old guy named Don George found us and invited us to his house. So we get there and--”

“Okay, I’m done,” Angus said. “Gregg, you literally followed a random stranger to his house. That was such a stupid thing to do!” Gregg’s ears flattened.

“I know, but…” He tried to think of something to say. His confidence was fading.

Angus rubbed his eyes and yawned. “I’m going to get some sleep. You know where the blankets and the pillow are.”

“I still have to sleep on the couch!?” Gregg blinked. “But, but--”

“Two words, Gregg. Stranger danger. And you nearly gave me a heart attack! I had no idea where you were. That’s a punishable offense. One night on the couch.” Angus said. “That’s all.”

“Wait, but don’t you wanna hear the rest?” Gregg asked.

“I know you’re just going to make this story as convoluted as possible. You always do.” Angus said. “I don’t want to deal with that right now. Goodnight.” Angus said, turning to walk into their room.

As he left, Gregg called out to him. “Wait, but you haven’t even heard about all the pictures of us we found in his basement! I have proof!”

“Shut it, Gregg. Get some sleep.” Angus replied, shutting the door to the room.

Gregg groaned. “Convoluted? I don’t make things convoluted! Whatever.” He looked at their old couch. “It’s just you and me couch. You’re going down. I’m gonna sleep on you so hard you’re gonna wish you were never made!”

“Stop talking to the couch and go to sleep!” Angus called.

“Sorry.” Gregg frowned. “Can I at least grab my computer?”

“You’re grounded,” Angus said. “No computer and no bed.”

Gregg groaned and fell face first into the cushion of the couch. The upper half of his body was resting on the couch, while the lower half was resting sloppily on the floor. For about ten minutes the fox grumbled and whined about how uncomfortable the couch was, but eventually fell asleep that way.

In the room, Angus got ready for bed. This night would require his comfiest pajamas.

He didn’t want to have to sleep without Gregg next to him, but his boyfriend left him no choice. He did stupid shit, he faced the consequences. Otherwise, he’d think it was okay to go into strangers’ houses. It was like owning a dog. That was a thought. Angus pushed it away. He took off his glasses and climbed up into bed.

Lying down and looking at the ceiling, he wondered how much Gregg was suffering without him. He had the urge to go get him, but he needed to stay vigilant. Gregg was being punished. Angus hoped he wasn’t being too mean. He really wondered if Gregg’s story was true, knowing how the fox made so much shit up.

Before long, Angus fell asleep, unaware his night was far from over.

 


	8. The Day After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter, Angus is weird and Gregg is freaking out. Warning: There are not so subtle notions that Gregg and Angus had sex, but there is no detail. It's important to the plot, trust me. Rip Gregg and Mae as usual. Will the trouble ever go away?

Chapter 8 - The Day After 

Gregg’s eyes slowly opened, and he felt his head resting on something kind of soft. It was light brown. He felt something on his cheek, and he sat up groggily.

Wiping his face of drool with his arm, he looked at the brown thing his head was resting on and saw the familiar couch. He moved and winced, his back sore from the way he was sleeping.

“Gregg? Why were you sleeping on the couch?” Angus asked, walking in. “I woke up this morning and you weren’t there. Are you mad at me?”

Gregg turned his head and blinked at his boyfriend. “Um...Actually, you’re the one who’s mad at me. You made me sleep on the couch.” Gregg reminded him.

“Why? You didn’t do anything.” Angus said. “In fact, last night was incredible.”

“Okay, okay, what’s up with you?” Gregg asked, now attempting to stand up. Angus blinked, walking over. They, in fact, did not have sex last night. Was Angus remembering it from two nights ago?

“What do you mean? I’m fine.” Angus said. He leaned in to kiss Gregg. Gregg accepted it. How could you reject something like that from someone like Angus? But after that, it was back to being serious.

“We didn’t have sex last night,” Gregg said.

“Yeah, we did. Remember I t--” He started, but was cut off by a fox paw covering his mouth. Gregg was blushing hotly.

“I remember, cap’n!” He said, remembering that night very clearly. He wondered why he did something like cover Angus’ mouth. No one was around, so what was the point? Maybe it was because they never did anything that extreme before. Gregg always let Angus choose, and that was fine with the bear, but holy hell did he have some crazy shit in mind. Gregg really used to think vanilla was all there was. Boy, was he wrong. Now was not the time to be thinking of sex, though.

“That’s what I thought,” Angus smirked, pinching the fox’s cheek after he took his paw away. Gregg frowned at him and looked worried. “What?”

“Angus, that was two nights ago,” Gregg said, putting a paw on his chest.

“Nice try, Gregg. I know this is one of your pranks.” Angus chuckled. Gregg was so shocked as to how Angus could be in such a bad mood yesterday, and then such a wildly different mood today. Mornings after sex were always happier, but this wasn’t one of those mornings. Besides, he already went through the good mood part yesterday! Then he ruined it by going and doing something stupid.

“What about all these cuts and bruises? You’re not the least bit curious why I’m injured?” Gregg asked, pointing to a cut on his arm.

“What are you talking about? You look the same as always.” Angus said. “Quit messing around.”  He walked to the kitchen and opened a cabinet. Gregg watched him the whole way, honestly kind of scared. “What you want for breakfast?”

“Uh, can I use my computer?” Gregg asked. He was freaking out because he clearly did not look the same as always. The cut was right there, and he could feel the bruises on his body.

“Uh, yeah, of course. Why couldn’t you?” Angus said, searching the cabinets.

“No reason,” Gregg said. _Maybe because a certain bear grounded me from it?_ He walked into the room and rushed to his computer, opening it and logging in. He pulled up Messenger and clicked on Mae’s icon.

 

Gregg: Mae

Gregg: Mae

Gregg: Mae

Gregg: Mae

Gregg: Mae

Gregg: Mae

Gregg: Mae I need2 talk 2 u

Gregg: …

Gregg: MAE

 

After a few minutes of no response, he gave up, groaning. He got out of the chair and walked back into the living room, looking at the back of Angus, who was in the kitchen cracking eggs.

“Hey, bug! Don’t forget, we’re meeting everyone here tomorrow to discuss the plans for this weekend!” Angus called.

“I don’t know if that’s still happening after yesterday. And also we’re meeting them today.” Gregg said, crossing his arms.

“Oh? Is someone still sore~” Angus smiled. He obviously ignored the fact that Gregg corrected him. Usually, it’s the other way around.

“NOT FROM THAT!” Gregg said, looking away. He wondered what Mae and Bea would think of they saw the naughty side of Angus. “But I am sore from all the shit that happened.”

“Good,” Angus said.

“Shut uppp,” Gregg said. “I’ll be right back.” He walked back into the room and sat in the chair, his fingers moving to hover over the keyboard of the computer. He clicked on Bea’s chat icon.

 

Gregg: Bea bea bea bea

Bea: What what what what.

Gregg: !!!

Bea: ?

Gregg: :D

Bea: ?

Gregg: :D :D :D

Bea: Gregg I literally don’t know what you want.

Gregg: Do you remember?

Bea: Remember what?

Gregg: Yesterday

Bea: What about yesterday?

Gregg: Do you remember it?

Bea: You mean all of yesterday?

Gregg: Yes

Bea: I remember it. You and Angus doing better?

Gregg: Um...that’s the thing

Bea: Oh no Gregg I’m so sorry that must be so terrible for you.

Gregg: What? He didn’t break up with me you uncultured swine

Bea: Okay. So what did happen?

Gregg: He doesn’t remember anything about it

Bea: What do you mean?

Gregg: He thinks we had sex last night

Bea: Ew.

Gregg: Shut up it’s natural!

Bea: Ewww.

Gregg: Anyway we had sex two nights ago. Not yesterday.

Bea: Ewwwww.

Gregg: I’m leaving

Bea: Sorry, sorry. That’s really weird.

Gregg: We’ll talk about it later. We still up for today?

Bea: I think we need to get out of this town even more than we did before now that yesterday happened. Plus it would do all of us some good.

Gregg: I completely agree. What time should we meet?

Bea: I have to work but I think about 6:30 is good.

Gregg: I’ll go notify the Cap’n.

Bea: Aye aye.

 

Gregg once again got up and went into the living room. Angus was sitting on the couch as something cooked on a pan on the stove. It smelled really good, and Gregg considered just letting the memory lapse thing go, but it could be serious! He walked over and sat next to the bear.

“Bea said six thirty,” Gregg said, looking at Angus.

“Righto,” Angus said. “What should we do until then?”

“I think we have work today,” Gregg said. He reached into his pocket for his phone and felt the crumpled up papers he had shoved in there yesterday. He started pulling them out. “Look, I have proof that yesterday happened!”

Angus looked at the photos. “Wow, this is one elaborate prank. I have proof that yesterday happened too~”

Gregg made a frustrated sound. “I’m going to work.” He placed the photos on the coffee table and went to get his leather jacket. He swore under his breath when he realized he and Mae left their sweaters in Don George’s living room.

Angus frowned and got up. “Why are you leaving? It’s not even time to go yet, and you never leave without eating breakfast, bug.”

“Do you really not remember anything that happened yesterday?” Gregg asked.

“Quit joking, I get it.” Angus crossed his arms.

“Grrr, I’m not joking!” Gregg snapped. He explained everything that happened yesterday so that maybe Angus would remember even a sliver of what happened.

“Wow, you even came up with this long, detailed story? I might have to start calling you the prank king, Gregg!” Angus smiled.

Gregg was far from smiling though. Why didn’t Angus believe him? “You know what, I’m actually too sore and hurting from yesterday. I’m gonna go lay in bed.”

“Hehe, okay.” Angus smiled. “I don’t blame you. It was pretty extreme.”

Gregg sighed and started walking. As he did, he felt a headache coming on. Great. More bad shit.

Angus was acting super weird. Gregg had felt sore before, but Angus never acted this weird about it. And how come he couldn’t see all the cuts and bruises? Why couldn’t he remember anything about yesterday? What was wrong with his boyfriend?

He walked into the room and finally took off his boots, feeling the nice relief one feels after taking off a shoe they were wearing for a really long time. He removed his leather jacket and belt, tossing them on the floor. He climbed up into bed, wincing a bit at the pain he felt in his arms, now that he was actually using them again. He made it to the top and curled up under the blanket, thinking about Angus and what he could do.

He finally came up with a plan as he closed his eyes, attempting to get real sleep.

* * *

 

_Later, after Mae had woken up…_

“...so then they brought me home and you guys were there and blah blah blah,” Mae said, finishing her story, looking back and forth between both her parents.

“So let me get this straight…” Candy started. “You were going to a dangerous glass factory, followed a stranger to his house, and you ran from the cops?”

“Yep, that’s about it,” Mae said with a nod. She had left out the part about all the papers and photos of the citizens (she took them out and hid them in her room).

“Are you crazy!?” Stan asked. “You could have been killed!”

“He was nice!” Mae argued. “He made us tea.” Candy shook her head and Stan facepawed.

“Oh Mae, honey…” Candy shook her head. “I’ll call Molly and tell her everything’s fine.”

“Okay. Thanks, mom.” Mae said.

“Can I get you anything?” Stan asked. “Breakfast, or a drink?” He wanted to make sure his daughter recovered comfortably.

“Just get me some cereal and my computer. I want to check up on Gregg and Angus.” Mae said, leaning back so her back was against the back of the couch. Stan nodded and went to fetch the laptop. He understood that relationships in jeopardy were not fun for everyone involved.

“We had a deal. You need to be home before nine every night.” Candy said. “After what happened in the woods, I don’t want you to risk your life again.”

“Ugh, mom, I’m fine.” Mae rolled her eyes.

“You are not fine, honey. You’re all bruised and battered up. That man could have done some terrible things to you. You should never trust strangers.” She warned.

“If we never made friends with strangers then we’d never make friends at all. Believe it or not, Gregg used to be a stranger.” Mae explained.

“A stranger you went to school with.” Candy commented.

“Still a stranger,” Mae said.

“Okay, Mae. Well, I have to get going. It’s Children’s Day at the church.” Candy said, standing up from the chair she was in. “Be careful and rest easy.”

“Alright, mom. I will.” Mae said.

“Your dad will be staying home to take care of you.” Her mom said, walking to grab her keys.

“How do you expect me to get better when dad’s making bad jokes all day?” Mae frowned. Candy chuckled.

“I think his jokes are cute. It’s the puns that kill me.” Candy said. Mae shook her head.

“His jokes are the puns!” Mae argued.

“Not all of them.” Candy said. She went to the door and opened it. “Have a good day. I love you!”

“Love you too, mom,” Mae said, waving. So Candy left, shutting the door behind her. Stan was coming down the stairs with Mae’s laptop. Mae looked over at him when he stepped on that one step and it made its loud creaking sound.

“Hey, kitten. Where’s your mother?” Stan asked.

“She went to work,” Mae said. “Didn’t you hear the door shut?”

“Guess I didn’t,” Stan said. He reached the bottom of the stairs and came over to Mae, handing her the computer, which she took with a smile. “Here you go.”

“Thanks,” Mae said, putting it in her lap and looking at all the cringy stickers that have been on there since middle school. She barely looked at these anymore since her computer is always open for her. Her father must have closed it when he got it for her. Stickers from the series Schoolgirls and Vampires she read when she was in, like, sixth grade. Stickers of random sayings she liked. A sticker she got from Donut Wolf after attempting the Donut Deathbringer’s Challenge (not one person could beat it, try as they may. Most ended up throwing up). The picture showed the Grim Reaper taking a bite out of a chocolate glazed donut and winking. He’s holding his scythe in his other hand. Above him, it said _Donut Wolf’s_ and below him it said _Deathbringer Challenge_ in a weird font. Mae always thought it was a pretty rad sticker. Would the Grim Reaper even like donuts? Probably. Everyone liked donuts!

She opened her computer after observing the stickers and saw that she had several messages from Gregg.

 

Gregg: Mae I need2 talk 2 u

Gregg: …

Gregg: MAE

Mae: I’m here. Sorry I fell asleep on the couch.

Gregg: Bitch

Gregg: I’m kidding luv u

Mae: What’s up?

Gregg: I just woke up, thanks for that by the way

Mae: You’re welcome

Gregg: Anyway Angus is acting really weird like he doesn’t remember anything that happened yesterday and he thinks I look completely fine when I look like a total shit fire

Mae: Yeah I feel that. Yesterday was terrible. Too bad you didn’t die by that creepy old guy.

Gregg: Too bad you didn’t die when you fell down the stairs.

Mae *smiling*: Too bad you didn’t die by falling off the ladder and breaking everything.

Gregg *groggily smiling*: Too bad you didn’t die by drowning and then freezing to death in that cold water.

Mae: Hey I had a family member that drowned!

Gregg: Sorry

Mae: Why doesn’t Angus remember anything?

Gregg: I dunno. He thinks he we had sex yesterday.

Mae: What?

Gregg: I dotn kno!

Mae: Did you?

Gregg: Mae what the fukc

Mae: Well good for you!

Gregg: … Anyway we’re all meeting here at 6:30. Don’t forget

Mae: i won’t! See you then.

Gregg: Get here a bit early so I can tell you what to dooo

Mae: Alright. I wanna die by the way I’m so sore.

Gregg: Yeah! See you later so we can talk about using our bodies more.

Mae: Where’s the middle finger emoji?

Gregg: *esCapeS*

 

Mae shook her head, an amused smile on her face. Gregg was so funny sometimes. Her father was in the kitchen now, pouring milk into a cereal bowl

“So what did Gregg have to say, kitten?” Stan asked, now getting a spoon out of the drawer after putting the milk back in the fridge.

“He said that Angus doesn’t remember anything that happened yesterday,” Mae explained.

“Oh? That’s kind of concerning.” Stan said, turning to bring Mae her cereal. “He should see Dr. Hank about that.”

“Dad we’ve discussed that Dr. Hank is literally no help in the mind department,” Mae said, taking the bowl after he approached. “Thanks.”

“No problem. And yeah, I guess you’re right. That journal helped, didn’t it?” Stan asked.

“Not really. I have a collection of rad drawings now, but that’s about it.” Mae said. “Still have the whatever-you-called-it.”

“Dissociation.” Stan reminded her. “And it was prescribed to you to help you with your anger management because that’s what we thought it was at the time. That day you told us about everything, we vowed that when we moved somewhere else we’d get you to a proper doctor to help with that. But hey, you haven’t beat any kids with a bat lately, have you?” He smiled when he said this. Stan really didn’t know about medical things. It honestly seemed like no one in the town of Possum Springs did. Don George would probably be a better doctor than Dr. Hank, if he wasn’t such a creep and if really _did_ use to be a doctor.

“Dad.” Mae frowned.

“Sorry, sorry,” Stan said.

“It’s okay,” Mae said. She started eating the cereal he poured for her. “Anyways, I have to go meet the gang at Angus and Gregg’s to discuss the road trip we’re going on this weekend. It’s gonna be really cool and we’re--”

“Uh-uh.” Stand cut in.

“What?” Mae looked up at him. He walked and sat down in the chair Mae’s mom was sitting in earlier.

“There’s no way I’m letting you go on a road trip after what happened,” Stan said.

“But dad! You have to let me go! You can’t ground me. I’m twenty years old!” Mae argued.

“You live in our house, you live by our rules. Your mother and I both discussed that you can’t leave the house for a few days. It’s not like you have a job to do or anything, so it should be fine.” Stan said.

“Wow. Thanks for reminding me.” Mae said sarcastically.

“Sorry, kitten. I’m doing this for your own good.” Stan said.

“Are you trying to be a stereotypical parent?” Mae asked.

“If stereotypical parents’ kids are safe and protected, then sure,” Stan said.

“Ugh…” Mae groaned. “This is so unfair.”

“You sound just like you did when you were a teenager.” Stan chuckled.

“We don’t speak of my teenage years.” Mae squinted. She had been eating the cereal the whole time. It wasn’t anything special, just some general name brand corn flakes, but Mae was so tired and exhausted last night that she hadn’t eaten anything, so she scarfed it down. The cat was finished with the cereal by now, so she set the bowl down on the coffee table. “I’m going to my room.”

“Alright, I’ll be here if you need anything,” Stan said.

“Whatever,” Mae said, grumpy because now her friends would go on a fun road trip without her. It was just like that one time her parents didn’t let her go to the amusement park field trip at school, because of the story of a group of people that died on the Roarin’ Typhoon ride. She was so mad at them back then for that. She was mad at them now too, except this time she was an adult and it was probably unfair.

She left the room and headed to her own room to mope, bringing her computer with her to tell everyone the terrible news.

  



	9. The Meeting?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poor Mae. What will she do?

Chapter 9 - The Meeting? 

There was a knock on the door. Gregg looked up from where he was cuddling with Angus on the couch. He had told the bear that everything he said had been a prank, and Angus believed him. Gregg apologized and they ate lunch together, then hung out for a while, then they started cuddling, and now here they were.

“I’ll get it, Cap'n,” Gregg said, getting up. He felt Angus’ arm slide from around him.

“I wonder who it could be,” Angus said, thinking that it was still Thursday. Gregg shrugged and opened the door. Bea was standing there, dummy cigarette in mouth and arms crossed. “Oh, hey Bea!” Angus said from the couch. “Come in! Gregg and I were just hanging out.”

“Hey, Angus, could you excuse us for a moment?” Gregg said, walking into the hall and shutting the door before the bear could give his answer.

“What’s this about? Did Angus get his memory back?” Bea asked. Gregg made a motion that told her to lower her voice.

“No, I just told him that it was a prank and that it was still Thursday.” He explained. Bea frowned.

“Gregg, that is literally going to make it worse.” She said. “Let me talk to him.” The alligator started to walk forward, but the fox blocked her.

“No, wait!” He said, with a whisper. “It’ll just make him a lot more confused if you tell him that it’s the truth.”

“So what, we’re lying to your boyfriend now?” Bea asked, a hand on her hip.

“Yes!” Gregg nodded. “Just tell him that you changed your mind and that you have something to do tomorrow so you made the road trip thing today.”

“Dude. You realize that we’re leaving for the road trip tomorrow, right? Like, if Angus thinks he has to work…”

“I know, I know. I’ll figure it out.” Gregg said. “Just for now, do it.” Bea let out a sigh.

“Fine.” She said. “Can we go in now?” Gregg nodded and turned around, grabbing the doorknob.

“Okay okay okay act natural.” He said. The fox pushed open the door. “Hey Angus, we weren’t scheming or anything at all! Just a normal friendly talk with no lying whatsoever!” Angus blinked and raised a brow. Bea rolled her eyes and walked in.

“Excuse Gregg. He’s an idiot. What he’s trying to say is that we had a discussion and it’s best that we change the road trip planning to today.” Bea explained.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Gregg said, standing proud. Angus smiled and his ears perked up.

“That’s a great idea, actually,” Angus said. “Give us time to prepare tomorrow. Does Mae know about the change of plans?” Gregg looked at Bea for help. Bea didn’t seem to do anything to help though.

“Ummmm...No she doesn’t,” Gregg said. “But she can! I’ll go tell her.” So he ran off into the room.

“So, how’ve you been Angus? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in your pajamas before.” Bea said sitting on the opposite end of the couch.

“Yeah, well, I guess Gregg and I just decided to skip work today for some reason. So there was really no reason to change. And I’ve been good. Gregg played a really elaborate prank on me, but I saw through it. It was really good, though.” Angus explained. “He made it seem like I lost my memory or something. Good thing he didn’t take it to far.”

“Yeah, I heard about that. Pretty funny, I guess.” Bea said. “You excited for the road trip?”

“Oh yeah, for sure,” Angus said. “I’m just hoping it’s smooth sailing and lots of fun the whole time. Then again, I always feel that way.” He chuckled.

“I agree. Can’t we just have something nice for a change?” Bea sighed.

“Yeah.” Angus nodded. “I’m guessing we’re all eating dinner together?”

“Oh, I didn’t think about that. What did you have in mind?” Bea asked.

“Not sure. We can all discuss it later.” Angus said. Bea noticed the papers and photos Gregg had taken out of his pockets and put on the coffee table.

“What’s all this?” She asked, picking up one of the papers. It had a picture of Lori on it and a green check in the top right corner.

“Oh, that’s part of Gregg’s prank. He made them, I’m guessing. He probably got some help from Mae, seeing as he wouldn’t know all that stuff about the residences in town. He’s lazy.” Just then, Gregg came back into the living room with a disappointed look on his face.

“Mae can’t join us because she’s grounded.” The fox explained. “Ugh, why does she have to have good parents?”

“Oh no! That sucks. Do you mean, like, she’s grounded from the road trip entirely, or…?” Angus asked.

“Yeah. She can’t leave the house for a few days.” Gregg said, coming to sit by Angus.

“Well, before you sit down, why don’t you get your computer and we can talk to Mae,” Bea said. She put the paper back down into the pile of papers.

“Yeah, I’m sure we can work something out,” Angus said.

“Okay, I’ll be right back,” Gregg said, walking off. It didn’t take him long to return. “Wait, we have a desktop computer. We’re gonna all have to go and sit in the room.”

“Oh yeah, silly us,” Angus said. Gregg gave him a weird look.

“I can understand how I forgot, but dude.” He said. Bea also looked at him, but her face didn’t show concern. Even though she was definitely concerned.

“Okay, let’s go, then.” She said, standing up. Angus stood up after her and stretched.

“Sorry, I’m just thinking about other stuff.” The bear said, walking with Bea and Gregg into the room. “Oh, hold on. I’ll go get some chairs.” He walked off.

“Gregg, are you really sure you want to keep lying to him? He seems...off.” Bea said, squinting.

“Yes, Bea. I don’t want him having a panic attack or anything.” Gregg said.

“He’s going to see the date and time on the computer,” Bea commented.

“Damn you, technology.” Gregg frowned.

“It’s honestly making things way more complicated by not telling the truth,” Bea explained. “Also, I didn’t want to say it before but you really need to shower.”

“That’s not important right now!” Gregg exclaimed.

“I don’t know. It’s kind of hard to be in the same room as you.” Bea said. “How is Angus still alive?”

“Because he loves me,” Gregg said.

“Right.” Bea nodded. “That’s it. Will you please shower before we continue so I’m not wanting to strangle myself?” Gregg groaned loudly.

“Okay, fine, whatever. If it’ll make you leave me alone about it.” Gregg crossed his arms. “Are you going to consult Mae without me?”

“Probably. We don’t really need you there.” Bea said.

“But I’m a part of this road trip too!” Gregg whined.

“You literally suggested we go to a junkyard on our vacation.” Bea reminded him.

“That’s because junkyards are cool.” The fox argued. “Jeez, Bea. You come over to _my_ house and want to use _my_ computer and then suggest I shower? Some guest.”

“I know you’re trying to make me offended or something, but you’re only acting this way because you’re freaking out about Angus.

“Stop seeing through me!” Gregg frowned. “I really don’t know what to tell him, and lying was, like, my scapegoat or something.” He explained.

“You know he’s going to find out eventually, just tell him,” Bea said. “You can’t keep up the lie.”

“InspiroBot generated that quote once,” Gregg said.

“I don’t know what that is,” Bea said. “Look, here he comes.” She pointed to Angus through the open door.

“So, like, we only have one other chair because this apartment is small and only two people live in it,” Angus said. He was holding a dark green lawn chair. “We got this when we saw that Fourth of July display downtown, remember Gregg?”

“Yeah. Those were some shitty fireworks.” Gregg said.

“I liked them!” Angus replied. “What was shitty about them?”

“So anyways, Angus. Gregg wanted to tell you something.” Bea said, nudging Gregg. He looked at her, frowning, and then looked at Angus with a worried expression.

“What is it, bug?” Angus asked.

“Um, so...It’s, like, not Thursday.” Gregg said. “It really is Friday and I wasn’t pranking you. I only lied to you because I was freaking out and that seemed like my only option.” Bea nodded in approval.

“Okay, prove it,” Angus said. Gregg immediately moved and turned on the computer monitor, sitting in the desk chair. The background showed Angus and Gregg sharing an ice cream cone. Gregg had a bit of ice cream on his nose because they had been playing around before Mae took the picture. But they looked so happy together that as soon as they got home Gregg set it as their background.

The screen showed that it was Friday. That was all that mattered to Gregg. Angus sat, looking at it and blinking. “You could have just changed the date and time.”

“I didn’t!” Gregg said. He pulled out his phone and showed him that the date was the same on there, too. “Bea?” Bea took out her phone and showed Angus the same date on there too.

“Oh shit…” Angus blinked again. “You guys really weren’t pranking me?” The other two animals shook their heads. “Wow...So everything that happened yesterday…”

“Yep,” Gregg said. Angus pulled out the lawn chair and set it up, then sat down. “What happened to me?”

“I dunno, Cap'n,” Gregg said. “But I do know that it’s gonna be fine. Let’s just talk to Mae.”

“Sorry, this is happening to you, Angus. It must feel pretty weird knowing that you don’t know what happened yesterday.” Bea said. Angus shrugged and shook his head.

Gregg was still sitting in the desk chair. He opened Messenger and clicked on Mae’s chat icon. He was also glad Bea didn’t bug him about the shower. Showers were gross.

 

Gregg: Hey Mae I got the whole gang here

Mae: Hi guys.

 

Gregg turned in the chair and looked at Angus and Bea. “Mae says hi.”

“We know, Gregg,” Angus said. He laughed. “You do realize we can see the screen too,  right?”

“Technology is crazy that way,” Bea added.

“Oh, yeah. I’m just not used to other people being here when I message her.” Gregg explained.

“Tell her we said hi, too.” Angus smiled, pointing at the screen. Gregg turned and began typing.

 

Gregg: They said hi too

Mae: Neat.

Gregg: So you’re grounded

Mae: Yep.

Gregg: That sucks

Mae: Yep.

Mae: I still really want to go with you guys, though.

Gregg: We want you there too and that’s why we’re here

Mae: My parents won’t let me go, though.

 

Bea got closer to the computer. “Here let me say something.” Gregg moved his hands so she had access to the keyboard.

 

Gregg: Hey Mae, it’s Bea.

Mae: Hi, Bea. What’s up?

Gregg: We just wanted to figure out what you think we should do.

Mae: I’m not sure. My parents are being laaame.

Gregg: They treat you like a child, still. You’re twenty years old!

Mae: I don’t remember the last time you used an explanation point in Messenger.

Mae: You must be really serious about this.

Gregg: Mae, now isn’t the time to talk about this. I think you should try and convince them you’re old enough to handle yourself on your own.

 

Gregg looked at Bea. “Um, yeah, hi. Remember yesterday? She was on her own and we got mad wrecked!”

“Yeah, but Angus and I will be there to keep you two from doing stupid shit like that,” Bea said.

“Yeah, don’t worry, bug! It’ll be a lot better with us there.” Angus said, smiling and ruffling the fur on Gregg’s head. The fox smiled at him. “Also, I hope I’m not the only one who noticed that she said ‘explanation point.’”

“Angus, I think you’re the only one here that finds that funny,” Gregg said.

“It was more amusing than funny,” Bea said.

“Well, I find spelling errors and grammar mistakes to be funny!” Angus exclaimed.

“There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s cute.” Gregg smiled. “Okay okay okay. Back to it.” He looked back at the screen and saw that there two new messages from Mae.

 

Mae: I think yesterday proved the opposite of that.

Mae:?

 

Bea reached for the keyboard again.

 

Gregg: Don’t worry. Angus and I will be there this time.

Mae: I guess that’s true. My parents really trust you, Bea. They think of you as like my big sis or something.

Gregg: Well okay.

 

“I have an idea!” Gregg said.

“What is it?” Angus asked.

“You’ll see.” The fox said. “Move over, Bea.” He reclaimed his position on the keyboard.

 

Gregg: It’s Gregga gain I have a idea

Mae: What?

Gregg: You could sneak out, movie style!

Mae: That’s a good idea.

 

Angus was scratching his chin. “That’s a bad idea, actually. Her parents would obviously find out she left, eventually.”

“That’s the point of sneaking out. You come back before they notice you were even gone.” Gregg pointed out.

“Yeah, if you’re going to, like, a party for a few hours. We’re going to be gone for a few days.” Bea reminded him. Gregg’s ears flattened.

“Shit.” He started typing again.

 

Gregg: Bea and Angus say it’s a badidea because we’ll be gone for more than a dew fays

Mae: Dew fays?

Gregg: Fwe daus

Gregg: Few dais

Gregg: Few days

Gregg: Stupid autocorrect

Mae: But you’re using a computer

Gregg: Exactly

 

“Oh my god, is this how you guys talk every time?” Bea blurted.

“Um, yeah? Why?” Gregg asked.

“It doesn’t matter. Nevermind.” Bea said. She yawned. “I think she should still try to convince her parents.”

“The worst they can do is say no,” Angus said. “Besides, we can always reschedule.”

“But I don’t want to reschedule,” Gregg whined. “I wanna go tomorrow. Who knows when we’ll all be free at the same time again?”

“I know what you mean, but sometimes that’s just how the cookie crumbles,” Angus said. “Sorry, bug.” Gregg groaned in response.

 

Gregg: Angus says we might have to reschedge

Mae: Nooo.

Gregg: That’s what I said!

Gregg: Sry m8

Mae: You know what.

Mae: You guys go have fun.

 

There was an audible gasp from Gregg.

 

Gregg: We would never go without you!

Mae: Seriously, guys. Just go. I’ll be fine. I have some things to do anyway.

 

“Is she sure?” Bea asked. “I kind of really need this, but I don’t want to go alone.”

“Yeah, I’ve been really looking forward to this ever since we made the plans,” Angus said.

 

Gregg: Are you sure your sure

Mae: Yes

Gregg: Okay fine

 

“It’s not going to be as fun without Mae.” Gregg pouted.

“Sorry, Gregg. It’s still going to be really fun, though.” Angus smiled.

“We can even visit a “rad junkyard,” if you’d like.” Bea said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah, that would be fun, wouldn’t it?” Angus kissed his cheek, causing Gregg to blush.

“Totally. Besides, it’s only a few days right?” He looked back and forth between the two of them.

“Yeah!” Angus said. “We promise it’ll be a good time.”

“Promise,” Bea reassured.

“Okay.” There was a moment of silence as the fox really thought it over. “Yeah, okay!” Gregg smiled. “I’m ready. Awooo! Road trip!”

“Awoooo!” Angus howled after him, and the two of them started giggling.

“Woohoo.” Bea said, with a very slight smile. Gregg told Mae what they decided on and she told him to make sure that he brought her back a souvenir. He assured her he would.


	10. Preparation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gregg and Angus get ready for the big day tomorrow!

Chapter 10 - Preparation 

After talking to Mae, the group decided that spaghetti would be what they ate for dinner. Angus got to cooking as Bea and Gregg talked about all sorts of things. Gregg appreciated the conversation because he never got to talk to Bea. He could just message her, now that it occurred to him. Bea was just surprised that Gregg could hold a mature conversation.

Dinner was pretty nice. Gregg stuffed himself on garlic bread, leaving barely any for the other two. Bea had two plates of spaghetti, especially complimenting the meatballs. Angus told her it was a recipe from a family member he actually liked, and surprisingly ate the least.

They discussed some of the places they would like to visit. Gregg wanted to go to some amusement park with a ridiculous name, Bea wanted to go to the Anne McCormick Aquarium (marine life always interested her), and Angus just wanted his two friends to be happy. He didn’t really care where they went, as long as they were together.

After dinner, Bea stood up, claiming; “I have to go home and talk to my dad about business stuff and tell him the plan for tomorrow.”

When she was gone, Angus shut the door and turned to Gregg, who was looking up places to visit on his phone. “I didn’t want to say it before, but you really need to shower.” Gregg rolled his eyes and groaned.

“Fine, if the whole world wants me to shower so badly.” He got up out of his chair, still looking down at his phone. Angus came over.

“We need to talk about something after.” He said, pulling Gregg into a hug. The fox hugged back.

“Yeah? What is it?” He looked up at the bear’s face.

“I’ll talk to you about it after you shower,” Angus said, tapping the tip of Gregg’s muzzle.

“Can’t you come with me?” Gregg asked, grabbing Angus’ large paw and tugging.

“I would, but we need to prepare for the trip tomorrow. I’m going to get to packing stuff. We’ll have to go to the store later, too.” Angus explained.

“We have to go places? Uggghhh…” Gregg complained. “I don’t wanna.”

“I can go alone.” Angus offered. There was a pause.

“You got me. I’ll go.” Gregg said, with a small smile. Angus smiled back. They kissed for a moment.

“I knew that would work.” Angus chuckled.

“Yeah, well, you know I don’t like you going anywhere at night alone,” Gregg said.

“You don’t like me going anywhere without you, period,” Angus said. Gregg blushed.

“Guess that’s what being in love is like.” He said. Angus kissed him again.

“Guess so. Now get in the shower, you smell terrible. And actually use soap this time. I know how you are.” Angus said.

“Fine, I will.” The fox said. “Make sure you don’t forget my retainer.”

“I won’t. I bet you looked so cute with braces.” Angus grinned, imagining it.

“No, definitely not. See you later, Cap'n.” Gregg kissed his cheek and walked off, but not before smacking Angus’ butt lightly. He giggled as Angus blushed and moved to begin packing.

* * *

 

After a while, Gregg was out of the shower, wearing a towel around his waist. He went into the living room after drying his head. Angus was on the couch, looking at his phone.

“Hey. I thought you were gonna pack?” Gregg said, walking over. Angus didn’t look up.

“I’m using a site and using the Notes app to make a checklist of things we need,” Angus explained.

“Can’t Bea bring stuff too?” Gregg asked, tilting his head.

“She’s taking care of her own stuff,” Angus said. “Hey, I just read that there’s a mobile app for Messenger coming out.” Gregg’s ears perked and he smiled excitedly.

“I’m downloading that day one,” Gregg said. “When does it come out?”

“Next month, I think,” Angus said.

“Nice,” Gregg replied. “I’m gonna go get changed and then I’ll be back and help you.”

“Sounds good,” Angus said. “Love you. Don’t forget I still need to talk to you about that thing when you’re finished.”

“Love you too. And okay, I won’t be long.” Gregg said, thinking about how different he acted around Angus. It made him feel like an adult which was ew, but it was Angus so it was fine.

He walked into the room and found some silk pajama pants and one of Angus’ nightshirts in the drawer. It was way too big on Gregg, but not so big where he was tripping over it. The bear had told him he looked cute in it whenever they first moved in, and ever since then Gregg’s been wearing the getup every night.

Returning to the living room, Gregg found Angus standing again. “Hey, Cap'n,” Gregg said. “I’m ready to be talked to about things.”

“Okay, good. What is this?” Angus asked, gesturing at the pile of papers on their coffee table.

“Papers with pictures and notes on some of the people who live in Possum Springs,” Gregg said. “Why?”

“Why? Um, maybe because that’s really concerning?” Angus said, picking up the paper with the picture of him on it. Gregg made sure to get that one. “How’d you get them?”

“We found them when we were in Don George’s basement,” Gregg said. “Don’t know what the check marks mean, though.”

“You said you ran away from the police before,” Angus said, picking up the paper with Lori on it. It had two green checks. “What happened there?”

“I dunno. They just showed up all of a sudden! Maybe they found the rest of the pictures in the basement and are questioning Old Don right now.” Gregg said. He was standing with his paws on his hips, and one leg kind of bent.

“Hopefully. That’s really creepy and kinda freaks me out.” Angus said.

“It’s gonna be fine, Angus. Let’s just focus on the road trip. Did you finish making the checklist?”

“Yep. Let’s get a move on so we can get good sleep.” The bear said.

“Together, in the same bed right?” Gregg asked, hopefully.

“If I don’t even remember why I’m mad at you, hon, do you think I’d make you sleep on the couch again?” Angus asked, shaking his head.

“Well, thank the god I don’t believe in for that.” The fox said, smiling and yawning.

“You’re thanking the god you don’t believe in for me losing my memory?” Angus blinked. Gregg thought for a moment.

“Yyyes…?” He said, squinting.

“Okay,” Angus said, looking back down at his phone.

“Sorry,” Gregg said, looking at a photo of them on the wall. It seemed like that was taken forever ago. So much had happened since then, and it was only really taken a few weeks ago.

All this Black Goat business made Gregg’s head spin. He didn’t know whether to truly believe in it or not. Bea said that there had been reports of hallucinogenic gas leaks in the mines, but would some air really cause all of that commotion down there?

“It’s fine,” Angus said. But Gregg was staring at the picture and lost in thought. Angus snapped his fingers and Gregg shook his head quickly.

“What?” He asked, looking at his boyfriend, whose paw was still in front of him.

“You were staring at something other than me,” Angus said. Gregg’s cheek tinted red and he grinned. This had been a running joke between them for a while now. One time, Angus had caught Gregg staring at a crappy looking chili dog, and when the fox was back to Earth, Angus said this now familiar quote between the two lovers. It had sounded like jealousy, which was kind of the point. Gregg wouldn’t really be able to explain it to someone like Bea, or Mae, but he and Angus got the meaning perfectly.

“Sorry, Cap'n. What’d you say?” He asked.

“I just said it was fine after you said sorry.” Angus reminded him.

“Oh. Why did I say sorry, again?” Gregg asked.

“Don’t worry about it. Hopefully, it won’t happen again...What you said sorry about, I mean.” Angus explained.

“Yeah,” Gregg said. Angus came over and stood next to him, showing him his phone.

“So, I split the list into two parts. Things we have to buy, and things we have at home. I think we should get the store stuff first.” He recommended, his shoulder against Gregg’s. Gregg liked the contact, and honestly just wished they could make out instead, or something.

“I think we should get the things at home first. That way we’ll already have stuff packed when we go to the store.” Gregg said.

“True, but stores don’t stay open forever,” Angus said. “It’s, what, eight? That doesn’t give us a lot of time to get a first aid kit, repellent, actual rain jackets, and more food. We already have flashlights, boots, a tent, blankets, books, duffel bags, clothes, a mini telescope, music, I think Bea has a spare tire, and some food.”

“Wow, we have a lot more stuff than I thought.” Gregg smiled. “Thank god.”

“So you believe in a god now?” Angus smirked, his ears perking a bit. Gregg clicked his tongue.

“You know what I mean.” He said. “Wait a minute, why did I put pajamas on if we’re leaving?”

“You can go out with PJs,” Angus said. “It’s not illegal or anything.”

“Not in this shirt, I can’t. People will think I’m wearing a dress!” The fox exclaimed.

“I think you look adorable.” Angus laughed. “But you can switch shirts if you want.”

So Gregg went and switched shirts, and the two of them left for the store.

* * *

 

“It’s sad that we had to get the cheapest shit we could find.” Gregg said, walking into the apartment and turning on the light. Angus walked in behind him.

“Yeah, well. When you’re trying to move it kinda puts everything else on a budget.” He explained.

“It’ll be so worth it though!” Gregg said, putting down a bag of stuff on the kitchen counter.

“Hell yeah, it will,” Angus said, putting down the remaining bags (only some could fit on the counter, so some had to be put on the ground). “Let’s get all this stuff packed.”

So the two packed until everything was set up and ready to go out in the car the next day. It took longer than they expected, but their excitement of the day to come was a driving force in their motivation.

“Ahh…” Gregg sighed, collapsing onto the couch. “You wanna watch a movie?”

“Actually, we should get to bed,” Angus said. “I don’t want to be falling asleep at the wheel.”

“Oh...I guess you’re right.” The fox got up and yawned. “I am pretty tired. That was more work than I do in an entire week. And that’s saying something.”

“It really isn’t. You don’t do much but stand there.” Angus said.

“Well, standing is hard! And boring. Why do you think I leave so much?” The two were walking to the bathroom to brush their teeth. “Hey, you didn’t pack my retainer,” Gregg said, grabbing the blue case from the wooden shelf it was on. He shook it a bit and heard the rattling of the two clear items inside.

“You need to wear it tonight,” Angus said.

“Oh, yeah.” Gregg nodded. “Duh.” They started brushing their teeth. “Thish ish gunnuh be pretty coo, huh?” He said, the foamy toothpaste making him talk funny.

“Yeah, it’ll be shumthing totally new to me,” Angus said.

“To all of ush,” Gregg corrected him.

“Yesh. I can’t wait to, like, leave town and vishit shumwhere other dan my family’sh.”

“Agreed,” Gregg said, spitting the toothpaste out and rinsing it out of his mouth. The bear did the same after he finished. The duo rinsed off their brushes and put them back in the holder, almost at the same exact time. The fox took out his retainers and fit them into his mouth. Angus took off his glasses and put them in their case on the same shelf the retainers were on. They walked to the room together, Gregg leading Angus so he wouldn’t bump into anything, and Gregg put his (Angus’) nightshirt back on. “Hold on, I wanna check Messenger real quick. What time are we leaving tomorrow?”

“A little after breakfast.” Angus said.

“That’s soo earlyyy…” Gregg whined. Angus didn’t respond. He was changing into pajamas. The fox logged into the computer and clicked on Mae’s chat icon. Angus climbed up into their loft, lying down with a comfortable sigh.

 

Gregg: Hey hey duder

Mae: Hey, gurlll

Gregg: U kno it

Mae: Hehe

Mae: What’s up?

Gregg: Got all packe d up

Mae: Good! Packing all them frozen pizzas?

Gregg: Mae what the f u c k

Mae:?

Gregg: We wont have electriciticity u thot

Mae: U r the thot u nerd begone

Gregg: o no my feelings

Mae: Oh boohoo boo boo. Must I call the wambulance, you poor oaf?

Gregg: R u calling me old u star spangled banner

Mae: No u

Mae: What kind of insult is that

Mae: If you are calling me America I might need to jump off a cliff.

Gregg: Die, mortal!

Mae: o no i am died

Gregg: Finally

Gregg: Ding dong the bitch is dead amirite

Mae: Wizard of Oz is a good movie!

Gregg: No u

Gregg: I am tired bye

Mae: D:

Gregg: I am jk

Mae: :D

Gregg: sike bye ;)

Mae: :o

Gregg: Muahaha *slips away into the cold dead shadows of the black night*

Mae: :O

 

Gregg logged out of the computer and climbed up into bed next to Angus, who was already asleep and snoring. _Damn. Must have been really tired or something. And he’s not even the one who had to sleep on the couch._ Gregg smiled at him and kissed his nose, then curled up next to him and tried to sleep.


	11. Goodbye, Possum Springs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap it's finally time for the road trip to begin!

Chapter 11 - Goodbye, Possum Springs 

Bea was more excited about the road trip than possibly anyone else who was going. She would have suggested one herself, but she wasn’t sure how the others would take it. When Mae suggested it, the alligator was honestly surprised. It really would just be them in a car for hours. She wasn’t sure Mae was mature enough to handle something like that.

Mae.

It kind of sucked that she couldn’t go on the road trip that _she_ suggested, but Bea was half relieved and half disappointed. Disappointed because she thought the four of them made a pretty good team, and that they were, like, inseparable because of everything that happened in The Mines. Relieved because now she didn’t have to hear Mae complain about being bored, or get into any trouble with her. Where she went, trouble usually followed. Still, though...

Bea had already packed everything she needed. She hadn’t used a road trip guide, like Angus, but she had consulted her father on what to take. It was relatively simple. Water bottles, healthy snacks, money, clothes, entertainment, and the like.

The alligator was eating breakfast now. A healthy bowl of some random knock-off brand of that cereal with the raisins in it. It was kind of bad. Bea wished food tasted better, or that her taste buds were more open-minded. Not that they had minds or anything.

She munched her cereal as she looked at her phone for places to visit. She still hadn’t really made up her mind. So many options to choose from!

She made sure that she didn’t pack any real cigarettes (she figured the break would get her even closer to quitting), and she made sure the car was washed after she left Gregg and Angus’ last night.

Bea told her dad the plan and he (surprisingly) agreed to get someone to cover her shift. Maybe he really did notice how tired and stressed she was. She appreciated it immensely. The alligator thought he really didn’t care much at all. Hopefully, she was wrong and this goodness continued.

She got up from where she was sitting after eating her cereal and double checked that she had all the things she needed to bring. The car would most likely fit everything they were bringing-- the trunk was quite spacious-- and as long as they kept the small stuff in bags, things would be fine.

Her charger cord had broken recently, so she figured she’d use Gregg’s or Angus’. She was glad she had a car charger because it would be really bad if they couldn’t charge their phones.

Her father walked in from his room, with the same unamused expression that he always had. Bea wondered if that’s how she always looked.

“Hey, Beatrice.” He said. “Ryan called and said he’d cover your shift, so you better thank him when you see him again. What’s for breakfast?”

“I didn’t make you anything, dad. I have to leave for the road trip pretty soon.” She explained. “We have some cereal, so you can get that.”

“Well, okay. The store won’t be the same without you.” He said. That was his way of telling her he didn’t really _want_ her leaving, but he would let her go.

“It’s not like you’re even in the store, ever, so how would you know?” Bea asked.

“Whatever.” He responded. Bea wished that he showed a little more appreciation for all the hard work she did. She was the one who practically owned the store. If her dad’s employees didn’t know any better, they would probably think he didn’t have anything to do with the Ol’ Pickaxe.

Believe it or not, there were days where Bea actually liked working there. It was usually quiet, and since there wasn’t a manager there to tell her what to do, she could watch videos or listen to music whenever she wanted. It was kind of nice, and she would be lying if she said she hadn’t gotten used to it. And it’s not like she’s doing it for free, anyways.

“The cereal’s over there.” The alligator pointed. “I need to get my things in the car.” She moved to go to her room, looking at the bags on her bed. Bea wondered if she’d even need all the stuff she was bringing but decided it was better safe than sorry.

She looked at her computer on her desk and debated putting it in a bag too. Oh, but there’d be no places to charge it, so that was out of the question. Her mind wandered for a bit as she grabbed the bags and started hauling them to her car.

Bea suddenly remembered an email she sent late last night to Mae’s parents (The reason she had their email was a long story, and it was more specifically her mom’s email). It was more of a persuasive essay than an email, and Bea was really tired when she wrote it, so she had forgotten she’d done it. She did remember that she explained all the reasons why Mae should be able to go on the road trip, providing evidence and such, as if it were a school paper. She didn’t even know why she really did it. She wasn’t sure if they had even seen it. Whatever the case, Bea was prepared for anything.

* * *

 

“Gregg.” Angus said, poking the fox’s nose. “Gregg, wake up.”

“Muhhh…” Gregg pushed his paw away. “Five more minutes.”

“I made breakfast, hon. It’s road trip day!” Angus said, excitedly. As soon as the bear said it, Gregg smelled the bacon in the air. He opened his eyes slowly, to see Angus’ face looking down at him.

The bear was already dressed and ready to go. He was wearing his green sweater and fedora, with his usual pants. Gregg however, was still in his pajamas. He sat up and stretched, yawning. “Oh yeah…Whatever you’re cooking smells really good.”

“It’s just bacon and pancakes,” Angus said, adjusting his fedora. He had an amused smile.

“Angus?” Gregg looked the bear in the face, and the eye contact made Angus blush a bit.

“Yes, bug?”

“I love you.” The fox smiled, sleepily. Angus pulled him up into a hug.

“Yeah, well. Someone’s gotta take care of you.” He said. “Otherwise, you’d probably be a pancake on the road yourself.”

“Can’t argue with that logic,” Gregg said. “Let’s eat.” So the two of them climbed down from the bed.

“I’ll serve you, you just worry about getting ready for the day.” The bear said, leaving the room.

Gregg went to the closet, yawning and smacking his lips together. “Alright, what cool shit am I wearing today…” He browsed through his clothes. It was a special day, so he wanted to wear something witty and fun. It would be the perfect day to wear his _Boyfriend Material_ shirt but that wasn’t exactly clean whatsoever, and not even Gregg wanted to wear it.

He decided on a pink shirt (not exactly witty, but pink is awesome) and his leather jacket with skinny jeans and his favorite boots. The fox walked out of the room, stopping by the bathroom to take out his retainer, then made a beeline for the small table he and Angus often shared their meals at. The big bear was already in the seat across from him.

“Hey, Angus. Look how this shirt makes my leather jacket look rad.” Gregg said, trying to look down and see for himself.

“Well, I would, bug, but your big muzzle is in the way,” Angus said, looking up from his phone. Gregg moved his head and looked up, so his boyfriend could see. “Very nice. The color suits you. It really accentuates your fur color.”

“I didn’t really think pink and majestic golden yellow would be a good mix! The more you know.” Gregg said, picking up the fork next to the plate of steaming pancakes Angus served him. He began eating. The pancakes were perfect and fluffy and it was like eating heaven. Did that feeling go against Gregg’s beliefs? Nah. It was just a saying. Heaven just meant “really effin’ good” to him.

“So, Bea should be here within the hour. I messaged her. She’s all set and packing up her things. Angus explained.

“Awesome.” Gregg smiled. His tail swayed in his seat.

Suddenly, there was a loud rapid thumping noise approaching their apartment, and Gregg’s ears twitched when he first heard it. Both the boys’ heads turned and they looked at the door. There was a quick rapping on the door.

“Guys!” A familiar voice called out. “Or should I say, gays? Gays, you in there? It’s Mae! Mae Borowski! The one from Maple Street!”

“We know! You’re, like, the only Mae we know!” Angus called.

Gregg felt a surge of excitement. He totally thought Mae was grounded by her parents! Maybe she snuck out because she was too excited to not go on this legendary trip. He didn’t even care about the consequences she would face, because his excitement clouded his judgment.

He sprung out of his chair, knocking it over. With Angus watching and smiling, his ears perked, Gregg ran to the door and opened it. Sure enough, the dark blue cat was standing right there. She was wearing her usual outfit. Gregg thought she must really love that shirt she had made.

The fox and the cat stared at each other for a moment, as they often did. Then, Gregg’s face morphed into an amused smile. “Too bad a car didn’t come out of a random portal and hit you on the way over here.”

“Too bad Angus didn’t turn out to be a psychopath in disguise and murder you in your gay sleep.” Mae fired back.

“Too bad you didn’t get abducted by aliens and were forced to go through tests--” Gregg started.

“Too bad--” Mae started.

“Wait, wait,” Gregg said. “...and the tests completely went screwy and your head got sawed off.”

“Too bad you both didn’t die in a fiery death when you burned the school down and all your flesh melted away with nothing but pure skeleton left,” Angus said from across the room.

“Damn, babe, you’re morbid.” Gregg blinked, looking back at him.

“Yeah, wow, Angus,” Mae said.

“I win because you guys gave up!” Angus grinned, delighted to have beat them at their own game.

“Aww, what?” Mae frowned.

“That’s cheating. You weren’t even playing!” Gregg said. The bear gave him a mischievous look Gregg had seen many times, and he looked away. It was that same look Angus gave him when he outsmarted him in a board game, or video game, or anything like that.

“I never said I wasn’t playing.” Angus cooed.

“Shit. He’s good.” Mae said. “Anyways, I’m so effin’ ready for this trip!”

Angus felt like his ears were deceiving him. It almost sounded like Mae said she was ready for the trip that she wasn’t going on, unless… “I thought you couldn’t come? Did you sneak out?” He started worrying a bit because holy shit they weren’t ready for this?

“Yeah, dude. I gotta know if you did that window trick I taught you.” Gregg said. “I used to use it all the time when I was a kid.” Mae smiled coolly and nodded, a hand on her hip.

“Oh yeah, I did it.” She said. Gregg squeaked a bit.

“That’s so cool! I bet you looked like a badass.” He said.

“You didn’t really sneak out, did you?” Angus started. “That could be, like, really bad, like, your parents could call the cops and think we, like, kidnapped you or something.”

“Why would they think we, like, kidnapped her?” Gregg asked, mocking Angus’ apparent love for using the word “like”, but the bear didn’t catch on. “They know us. If we ever _did_ kidnap her, they wouldn’t suspect a thing.” He looked at Mae with a creepy smile, but the cat tried to hold back a laugh.

“Oh my god, you look like you’re in pain or something.” She said, putting a paw over her mouth and snickering. Gregg’s brows furrowed, but he kept the smile.

“What do you mean? I look terrifying, I bet. You’re probably just hiding the fact that you are actually scared of me.” Gregg said.

“Let me see, bug,” Angus said. Gregg turned around, but his brows were still kind of furrowed which made the pained expression more pronounced now. In a few seconds, the bear and Mae were laughing. It was actually a pretty funny face, after all.

After teasing Gregg and wiping his eyes, Angus returned his attention to Mae. “Sorry for the interruption. What happened, again?”

“Oh yeah. So my parents let me come because of an email from--”

“Me,” Bea said, walking into the apartment through the still open door. She was wearing a black sweater with sweatpants and a black and white striped scarf. She also had a dummy cigarette in her mouth, no surprise there. Mae turned around and her eyes glowed.

“Beabea!” She immediately pulled the alligator into a hug. Bea didn’t hug back, which was no surprise.

“Yeah. It’s me.” Bea said, looking at Angus, who had a quizzical look on his face.

“You sent Mae’s parents an email?” Angus asked.

“Yep. I just really didn’t think it was fair that they were treating her like a child. They must have realized how important this is to all of us because they seemed very confident in their answer to Mae being able to go.” Bea explained.

“Heck yeah! That’s because they know I’m a Class A survivor.” Mae said.

“I think you’d be the first to die in a zombie apocalypse,” Gregg said. Mae looked at him.

“Oh yeah, well you’d be the first to get zapped in an alien invasion.” She said.

“You do look very zappable,” Angus said, getting up from the chair.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Bea asked. “What makes a person look zappable?”

“Gregg, you haven’t finished the pancakes I made,” Angus said, gesturing to the round cakes that the fox took a few bites of. He picked up the chair Gregg had knocked over earlier.

“Oh, yeah. I should probably finish those.” Gregg said, walking to the chair.

Bea didn’t really care that Angus didn’t answer her question. There were more important matters to attend to. “So, Mae.” The cat looked at her. “We should probably get your things into the car, assuming they fit.”

“Ohhh…” Mae averted her eyes.

“What.” Bea blinked. Gregg was chomping down the pancakes as Angus put some food they were taking in bags.

“I didn’t bring anything! Yay, more space in the car!” Mae cheered. Gregg turned and looked at her in his seat.

“Even I know that’s not how this works.” He said. “It’s fine, all the food we’re bringing combined is probably enough the four of us! Woo!” He raised his fork in the air triumphantly.

“Woo!” Mae said, raising her fists in the air.

“Except I packed food specifically for me,” Bea said, closing the door now because it was still open for some reason. It shut with a click.

“Aww c’mon, Beabea, sharing is caring,” Mae said.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, Bea,” Angus said, still picking out stuff to put in the bag. Bea frowned and crossed her arms.

The alligator didn’t want to admit she packed some of her favorite things to eat (she was glad they were road trip friendly). The problem was, they were also some of her dad’s favorite things, and he was a total dick about it, always eating most of what they had before Bea had a satisfying amount, even if she bought it with the money she earned. He made sure to remind her very clearly that the money was also his because the checks were in his name, so it didn’t matter. But finally, Bea was able to hide the delicacies from him and sneak them out to this road trip. They were all hers. Except, not anymore, because everyone wanted her to share it and she was sure Mae would take that as a “eat whatever you want,” instead. She should have known Mae would forget to bring anything. Whatever. She didn’t want the others thinking of her as selfish. “Fine.” She said, reluctantly.

“You’re the best, Bea.” Mae smiled appreciatively at her. Bea walked away from the door and sat on the couch.

“I guess,” Bea said. “You aren’t going to have a change of clothes or anything.”

“I’ll be fine.” Mae shrugged it off.

“Mm, actually, I agree with Bea this time, Mae,” Angus said. “You’re going to want to change. Trust me. _We’re_ going to want you to change. We’ll just stop by your house on the way out of town and you can get what you need. It shouldn’t take long at all.”

“Okay, fine!” Mae rolled her eyes. “We’ll do that, and then we’ll go.”

“Heck, yeah! I’m so excited you’re coming along, Mae.” Gregg was smiling a lot. The road trip was going to be ten times more fun, now.

“Me too, Gregg. Me too.” Mae smiled back.

* * *

 

After Gregg finished his pancakes and they got everything packed into the car, it was time to go.

It was pretty cold outside that day, but the group wasn’t completely dressed for it, seeing as they’d be in a car that had a heater for hours.

The four of them got in. Angus was in the driver’s seat, Bea was in shotgun, and Gregg and Mae were in the back. All the things they had packed fit in the trunk, with a bit of room to spare, which was fortunate for Mae. Her things would fit.

“Everybody buckled in?” Angus asked, as he always did when they were all going somewhere in the car together. Mae always thought it made him sound like a mom.

“Yep.” She said.

“Affirmative,” Bea replied.

“Aye, aye, Cap’n,” Gregg said, looking at Angus’ face in the mirror. Angus smiled, putting on the radio station with all the 60s songs, and started driving to Mae’s.

“Oh. Wait.” Mae said. She looked down at her buckle. “Yeah. I lied. I’m not buckled.” The cat took a moment to fix that. “Okay, I’m good.” Angus sighed and continued to drive, enjoying the music (The Beatles, The Kinks, etc., were his favorite kinds of bands).

The stop at Mae’s didn’t take long at all, as Angus had predicted. She just threw some clothes in a grey suitcase her dad let her borrow and then stuffed it in the back of the car.

Soon, they were off again. A bit later, they drove past the sign that said they were leaving town.

“Awooo! Road trip!” Gregg cheered. Everyone was in a good mood, and it already felt refreshing just to drive past that sign.

“Yeah, woohoo!” Mae cheered as well.

“Yippee. Road trip.” Bea said, looking at the bare trees going past outside the window.

“Yeah! Road trip! Goodbye, Possum Springs!” Angus cheered, his ears perked because he couldn’t stop smiling. He looked down at the dashboard. “We need gas!” He cheered, in the same exact excited tone. The car was already turning around, and within a few minutes, he drove past the sign that welcomed them to town. “Hello, Possum Springs!”

Everyone laughed.

  
  



	12. Going Off the Rails

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter, Lori Meyers.

Chapter 12 - Going Off the Rails 

“...I still think the gas prices in Possum Springs are bullshit.” Bea said. “$3.95 for a gallon of gas is insane.”

“Well, it’s a dying town. What did you expect?” Angus asked, turning left on Maple Street to enter the part of town they don’t usually visit that often. He’d only had to put gas in Bea’s car a few times, and that was all that was really down here (besides a few okay restaurants, houses of animals they didn’t know, and small shops).

“I guess,” Bea said. Gregg turned his head and looked at Mae.

“Do you have any idea what they’re talking about?” He asked, shaking his head. Mae gave him a quizzical look.

“Um, yes? Gregg, it’s not that hard to understand gas prices. My dad complains about them all the time. My mom’s lucky because she can walk to work.” Mae explained.

“Ugh, I know, but it’s so boring.” Gregg groaned. “Like, if I can’t relate to something, I feel like it’s hard for me to care about it.”

“I feel that way, sometimes,” Mae said.

“You guys know you don’t have to listen to our conversation, right?” Bea said.

“Yeah, but there’s nothing else to do,” Gregg said.

“Welcome to road trip life!” Angus said. “I’m pretty sure that’s how it works.”

“What the hell, now I wanna die!” Gregg said, pawing the window. “Lemme out!”

“Nooo, don’t leave me!” Mae cried. The fox turned his head and looked at her with a blank expression, then he smiled.

“I’m just kidding, dude. I can handle it.” He said. They pulled up into the gas station and next to a gas pump.

“Good, because you’re gonna have to get used to it,” Angus said, as he turned the key and the car shut down.

“I know, I know,” Gregg said. “Like I said, I can handle it.”

“I’m more worried about Mae,” Bea said.

“I’d be worried about me too.” Mae nodded. Angus got out of the car and proceeded to fill the car up with gas. While he was doing so, Mae looked out of the car into the window of the corner store attached to the gas station. Gregg and Bea were talking about some aquarium she wanted to visit.

Mae’s ears twitched and her eyes widened when she noticed a young grey mouse looking at snacks on the shelf in the store. The mouse had a large dark green backpack and a satchel with her. She was wearing her usual hoodie, a white T-shirt with Dracula on it, and jeans with holes in the knees. “Guys, it’s Lori!” Mae shouted.

“Oh wow. It is.” Bea said, looking in the direction of the mouse. Gregg looked as well.

“I’ve seen her before, but I’ve never talked to her,” Gregg said. “I don’t usually talk to people that young.”

“I’m gonna go say hi,” Mae said, already unbuckling and opening the door.

“No, wait, Mae!” Gregg shouted. “We wanna get going, already!”

“Just let her go,” Bea said.

Angus noticed her run inside, but just assumed she was probably getting food.

* * *

 

_Earlier that day..._

Lori Meyers was fed up. Ever since she lost her mother to cancer, things have been different. Not in a good way.

She shoved a pair of jeans into a dark green backpack she stole from her father’s closet, then a shirt, more jeans, another shirt, a few pairs of underwear, and multiple pairs of socks. The mouse walked into the bathroom, leaving the backpack open on her bed, and opened the cabinet, scanning the shelves for an unopened toothbrush. She pushed the boxes and bottles of medicine out of the way, searching and finally finding what she was looking for. She grabbed the packaging that the white and silver toothbrush with the red and white bristles was in. Sure, it was an adult toothbrush, but she’d get used to using it. She grabbed a spare tube of toothpaste and then closed the cabinet. She turned around and pulled back the shower curtains, grabbing the tear free shampoo that she’d been using all her life. It would have to do, as much as she didn’t like it.

Lori’s dad must have had the idea that she was still a baby, or something because that’s exactly how he treated her. Tear-free shampoo and a kiddie toothbrush with some Saturday cartoon character she didn’t even care about. Of course, the mouse used the shampoo her father used, even if it may be for men. She’d heard about men using women’s shampoo, so why couldn’t she do the opposite? She poured out some of her shampoo every time she used her father’s, at least making it seem like hers was being used. The golden liquid (it was a pretty color, like honey, but it smelled super lame) would drizzle onto the floor of the tub, a stream of the stuff immediately flowing toward the drain, as Lori thought; _Take that, old man!_

He wouldn’t let her order off of the same menu as he did, the rare times they got take out or went somewhere to eat. This frustrated her because at the top, printed in fine letters, it read _For kids 12 & under. _ She was two years above that, and she believed she had a right to get a bigger burger or larger bowl of pasta.

But this wasn’t why she was running away. Sure, she also had to hide all her favorite flix from her dad, but that was easy. Plus, watching them late at night just made them even better. There wasn’t really any background noise, so she could focus on analyzing the special effects of the monsters and such. No, being treated like a kid wasn’t the reason she was hightailing it out of there.

The real reason started after her mother died, and her father revealed his true self. She loved her father, she really did. The young mouse knew all his intentions were good, if a little too controlling, but she loved him nonetheless. He was her dad, after all. But the day after they got back from the funeral, he wouldn’t talk to Lori. She understood. She didn’t want to talk to anyone, either. She would have rather laid by the tracks for hours. He didn’t give her dinner that day, either, and he didn’t feed himself in the end, like Lori had. The mouse figured the first few days would be like this, considering recent events. Of course, she was sad as well, but she wasn’t going to let it destroy her. She’d learned from horror movies that learning to move on is what’s best for everyone.

A week later, things hadn’t got better. In fact, they had gotten worse. Her father acted like she didn’t even exist. She would try and talk to him, but he wouldn’t even look at her. Lori was pretty independent because it was hard for her to make friends, but she knew that being dependent on your family was a problem. She had to eventually learn to cook for herself, thankful that her neighbor, Ms. Rigby, provided her ingredients, and even gave her some tips.

Then came the alcohol.

Lori had never known her father to drink, so when he came home drunk one night while she was watching The Thing, she was more than a little concerned. He had yelled at her because she was using the living room television to watch the movie, and her father had come in on a particularly gruesome part. He slurred his words and wobbled a bit, and Lori could smell the alcohol on his breath. He was yelling at her for watching such a violent and gory movie when she was just a little mouse. Little mice had no place watching bad movies like that. She remembers specifically turning her head to the side and breathing out of her mouth so she couldn’t smell anything.

She didn’t think it could get any worse, until last night. It was all a blur, really, but her father had come home way more drunk than ever before. They got into an argument about the kinds of stuff she was watching (one of which Lori tried desperately to get out of), and he ended up hitting her on the arm. She knew that that was the last straw and felt unsafe in her own home. She had heard stories of it happening before, but the kids were usually caught and things became worse from there for them.

Not today. Lori was going to be that kid that got away. She couldn't take her dad’s behavior anymore, and there was no point in staying in a place where you weren’t taken care of.

She found herself staring at a picture above the toilet of her younger self with her arms wrapped around her father. They looked so happy. She hadn’t even noticed that she began hyperventilating. She leaned against the sink with her free paw (the other holding the things she had gathered, except for the shampoo, which was under the crook of her arm) and looked down into the blackness of the drain. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea. Maybe things would get better. Maybe she didn’t have to leave him.

She heard her father snoring from his room and frowned. Her father, who should have been at work, was still asleep after getting dead-ass drunk the night before. How irresponsible. A drop fell into the sink and Lori realized she was crying.

When was the last time that happened? She really didn’t want to leave, but her father had given her no choice. She wiped her eyes and sniffled, letting herself sob for a bit, then left the bathroom, carrying the supplies she had gathered there. After grabbing a Ziploc bag from the pantry, she returned to her room, placed the things she got from the bathroom in it and shoved the bag in the front pocket of her backpack.

Her backpack. It was her backpack now. She had stolen it from her father. This was absolutely crazy. But if it was so crazy, why couldn’t she stop?

She grabbed the black umbrella that was rolled up on her desk and placed it on top of her clothes in the largest part of her bag. Now came the hard part. Walking into the hallway, Lori’s head faced the door to her father’s room. She took deep breaths, so as not to freak out, and walked slowly forward, placing her paw on the brass knob.

Turning it, she pushed the door open gently, and to her dismay, it creaked the whole time it opened. She winced and shut her eyes, hoping everything would just end and that this was just a bad dream. Her father kept on snoring, deep in slumber. She let out a breath of relief, then crept in.

The light from the closed blinds painted the room in a bluish hue, and it was almost hard to see, but it was nothing Lori couldn’t handle. She felt so out of character sneaking around, walking to the foot of his bed, looking at her old man splayed out on the mattress. Luckily, he was lying on his belly, and the thing she came for stuck out of his pocket.

Walking to the side of the bed his face wasn’t facing, the mouse reached her hand forward slowly, breathing as little as possible, and her fingers touched the leather of the brown billfold. She grabbed it and slowly pulled it out, leaning back afterward. Lori stared at the back of the man who she had known all of her life, who had raised her, who had wanted what was best for her. But she was also staring at the man who started neglecting her, who didn’t feed her or himself, who had hit her, and whom she’d lost to his sorrow of losing the woman he loved. Lori felt like she might start crying again at any moment, but her eyes stayed dry. She turned and moved to leave the room when her father began moving.

She froze in her tracks, freaking out inside, but somehow not hyperventilating and giving away her position. But luck was on her side, and her father just kept on snoring after he repositioned himself. Lori quickly left the room and returned to her own.

Sitting on the bed and opening her father’s wallet, she looked in the large back pocket and pulled out a stack of cash. She flipped through it in her hand, counting. There were at least a hundred dollars there, so Lori figured she’d be covered if she ever needed food, which she did. Dropping the wallet on the bed, he put the money in the smallest pocket in the front of the bag and sighed.

Her head moved to look at a satchel on her desk. She had packed it the night before when she had decided she really was running away. The satchel held two journals for her to draw and write in, a few of her favorite movies, a pencil bag with a few art supplies, and an mp3 player with earbuds, even though she didn’t really listen to music that often. And when she did, it was often scores from horror movies, which were an art all on their own.

Lori grabbed for her boots next to her bed and slipped them on, still hearing her dad snoring slowly. She thought about all the things she’d be leaving behind as she grabbed the backpack and satchel and put them on. She’d be leaving her TV, her bed, her home, the train tracks she loved so much (She vowed that she wouldn’t live anywhere that wasn’t close to tracks), her friend Mae Borowski, who talked to her when she hung out on the rooftops, and most of all, her dad, who used to do so much for her. But that was in the past, and the life she was living right now was not one she was comfortable with.

She had read an article on how to run away on her dad’s computer (that’s where she knew what to bring) and figured that life on the streets would be easy, once she found a way to make money. But she had enough money to sustain her for now.

Now Lori was at the front door, staring at it. This is where things change. When she stepped through the door, her new life would begin. She took a deep breath and turned around, looking at everything in the living room one last time.

After a few seconds of scanning the room, Lori opened the door and stepped out into the chilly air. Good thing she was wearing her hoodie, because it was cold. She could see her breath. She already knew her first destination, which was the only gas station in Possum Springs.

She began her journey.

* * *

 

_Back at the gas station…_

“Lori!” Mae called, running through the open door of the gas station. Lori turned and saw the twenty-year-old cat, the gears of her mind already turning. The cat was in front of her now, grinning from ear to twitching ear. “What are you doing here?”

“Just...picking up some snacks,” Lori said, looking at the shelf again. She had a few packages and bags under her arms.

“Nice! I don’t think I’ve ever seen you anywhere other than the roof, the tunnel, or in front of the statue.” Mae said.

“Yeah. I don’t go other places much.” Lori said.

“What’s all that stuff you have with you?” Mae asked, eying the backpack and satchel.

“Just some stuff. I’m going on a trip.” Lori said, grabbing a bag of Chex Mix and inspecting it.

“Ooh, really? We’re going on a trip too.” Mae said, still smiling.

“Ah, nice.” Lori said, not knowing what she meant by “we.” She was pretty sure Mae didn’t have that many friends, besides that fox guy, or something.

“Where you going?” Mae asked. Lori grabbed two bags of the Chex Mix, a red one, and a blue one.

“Anywhere,” Lori said, regretting it as soon as she said it. She didn’t want anyone to know what she had done, and she definitely didn’t want to have to return to her alcoholic father. He would for sure find out that she stole money from him, and things would go downhill from there.

“Just not here?” Mae laughed, softly. “I can’t believe you’ve heard Die Anywhere Else.” Lori had never heard that song, before.

“I guess,” Lori said. Mae’s smile faded. _Oh no, she’s onto me,_ the mouse thought.

“You’re acting weird,” Mae said. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just tired.” _Of literally everything._

“Oh, okay. Well, what if you came with us?” Mae asked before she even really thought it through.

“What do you mean?” Lori asked, a little interested because if they were in a car, it would probably be harder for her dad or whoever was looking for her, when they found out she was missing, to find her. And also, they (whoever “they” were) would probably make sure she was well fed and taken care of, which might give Lori a good headstart of learning how to live independently from her father.

“So, we’re going on this road trip, and I was thinking you could maybe join us. You probably have money, which means more food, and we already have some food and I’m assuming you have a change of clothes and stuff.” Mae explained.

“Yeah, I do,” Lori said.

“That’s great! Yeah, this could work! It’ll be fun. My friends are super nice.” Mae said. Lori considered her other options for a moment but figured that this was the best thing to do.

“Alright, I’ll come along,” Lori said. “Do you guys have a DVD player in the car?” She was hoping she might get to use the movies she brought, after all.

“They have those?” Mae asked. So much for those movies. Lori sighed, a little disappointed.

“Yeah, they have those.” She said. Mae looked out the window and saw Angus gesturing for her to hurry up.

“Okay, finish up in here real quick and then we’ll get going,” Mae said. Lori nodded. She had thankfully already gotten everything she needed in the store, so she went up to the counter and paid for everything, then turned to Mae after all the snacks were put into a plastic bag. Mae was smiling, excited to have someone else (especially one of her better friends in Possum Springs) join them.

The two walked out to Bea’s car and Angus rolled down the window. “Get in the car, Mae. We gotta go if we want to make it to Durkillesburg by tomorrow.” His breath was visible in the cold, winter air. Mae was too distracted by Lori to notice the name of the town Angus had spoken.

“So, guys. Lori here’s on a trip too!” Mae explained, gesturing to the mouse. Lori looked at the animals sitting in the car. She noticed Angus, whom she knew because he worked at the Video Outpost “Too”. She saw the fox guy that Mae was friends with, but she didn’t remember his name, even though Mae had probably said it before. She saw an alligator sitting shotgun, but she didn’t know her at all. Bea worked at the Ol’ Pickaxe and Lori never had a reason to go there.

“Hi, Lori,” Angus said, waving. Lori waved back, but she didn’t say anything. Suddenly, the fox guy was pressed against the window, and she could hear him say “fresh meat.”

“Shut up, Gregg.” Bea rolled her eyes. Mae laughed at her fox friend. So that was his name. Gregg. “So why does Lori being on a trip concern us, Mae?”

“Because she’s coming with us!” Mae said. “Woo!” Lori stayed quiet as she watched the next part play out. They spoke as if she wasn’t there, and she was kinda really wishing she wasn’t.

After a talk (It was more of a negotiation) between all of them that went on much longer than it should have, Angus sighed. “Fine. She can come.”

“Really? Awesome. You hear that, Lori? You can come!” Mae said. Lori nodded her head because of course she had heard that. “Just put your stuff in the back, and then you can sit between me and Gregg.”

So Lori placed her stuff in the trunk. She was sure that when they opened the trunk again, everything would fall out because it was packed full. The mouse wasn’t concerned with that right now, though. All she cared about was getting out of Possum Springs as soon as possible.

Mae was waiting for her when she came around the side of the car.  The door was open. Lori crawled in, sitting in the middle of the backseat, wondering why she was suddenly fine being in a car full of people she didn’t really know all that well. But Angus had always been nice to her, so that helped, and Mae was a good friend, which made it even better. Lori was sure Gregg and the alligator wouldn’t be a problem.

“Everyone buckled in?” Angus asked, as usual. Lori looked down and made it so that she was.

“Yipperdoodle,” Gregg said.

“Yessir,” Bea said.

“Yep.” Mae nodded.

“Yeah,” Lori said, quietly.

“Okay, good,” Angus said. They began driving, as Mae introduced Lori to everyone.

“So this is Angus,” Mae said, pointing to the bear. “He’s really nice and sweet and he’s Gregg’s boyfriend. He’s, like, our leader.”

“I know Angus,” Lori spoke, softly. “He works at the video store.”

“Nice to see you again, Lori. I’m really not the leader of the group, though.” Mae leaned in and whispered that he really was into Lori’s ear.

“That lovely alligator up there is Beatrice Santello. You can just call her Bea.” Mae said. “She’s pretty calm and cool. She’s mature, too.”

“Nice to meet you, Bea,” Lori said.

“You too,” Bea said, in a monotone voice which made Lori worry that she already didn’t like her.

Mae looked at Gregg, who was distracted with a game on his phone. “That’s Gregg, my best friend. He’s really fun and cool.”

“You got that right,” Gregg said. “Don’t forget it.” Lori didn’t really say anything to the fox. There was something about him that just put her off.

They once again drove past the sign and there was cheering for some reason. Lori hoped they weren’t always this loud (except Bea, she was quiet as a mouse).

“Guys, look!” Mae said, pointing to the grey sky. Little white flecks were falling around them.

“Oh, rad!” Gregg smiled. “Snow!”

“As long as it doesn’t get too big and stick to the road, we should be fine,” Angus explained. Bea didn’t say anything. Lori wondered if she even liked snow. The mouse wished she was curled up under a warm blanket watching the new It remake, or The Shining. It was going to be hard to go without horror movies for such a long time. Even if that was the case, Lori Meyers was on the road to a better life now.

She was ready for anything the universe had to throw at her.

  
  
  



	13. Where We Riding To?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The road trip truly begins. This chapter took me so long to write, but there is a ton of info hidden in it. Enjoy!

**Part 2**   
**It Ironically Gets Real**

Chapter 13 - Where We Riding To? 

_Later that day…_

Gregg covered his eyes. “Turn it off, turn it off!” Mae and Lori were laughing as they watched a wolf dude get ripped to shreds by a creature of unimaginable size. As you might have guessed, and as Gregg predicted, there was loads of crimson and blood-soaked gore. It had been pretty mild up until that point, though. And they killed off the cutest actor, too!

“This is so cheesy,” Lori said. “I love it.” She was smiling, thankful that Mae found a way they could still watch movies while on their trip. Mae was pretty cool, after all. Of course, she figured it out.

Who knew there was an app out there that let you download any movie for free? The downside: Long download times, lower quality visuals, and a lot of space taken up on your phone. Another problem, since the app was used offline, the amount of space it took up grew larger and larger as the collection grew.

Angus was the one who told Mae about it in the first place. When the internet was being installed into their apartment (It sucked, but since it was a cheap apartment everyone had to have their own Wi-Fi), Gregg had been super bored and wanted to go to the movies, but they couldn’t afford it. They did just buy an apartment, after all. Angus was determined to figure something out for them, so he read online (he had to leave the apartment and go to Pastabilities for free internet) for a while and finally stumbled across GoMovi, the app that lets you watch movies for free without Wi-Fi.

It sounded kind of sketchy but it didn’t really matter, so Angus downloaded it. It really worked! It’s kind of ironic, considering he ended up getting a job at a video rental store. The thing was, it didn’t matter what job he got, as long as it made him money so he and Gregg wouldn’t be homeless (and eventually move to a better city). It was just temporary so they could watch a few movies while their internet was being installed, then they didn’t need it anymore (the internet service came with Netflix, woo!).

Angus told Mae about it and, not wanting to pay for a monthly subscription to anything, the cat jumped at the opportunity. Although the app had been pulled from the store, Mae somehow found a way to get it, just as the company that made it found a way to keep it alive. It was all rather sketchy, really.

Mae could really only have one movie downloaded at a time on her phone since the memory card didn’t have much storage on it. It was fine though because she didn’t have that many apps besides Tumblr and GoMovi. She _could_ use online sites to watch movies, sure, but why risk putting her phone in danger? Plus, being able to watch them without internet was a huge plus. To get the movie they were watching, _Unexpected_ _Invitation_ , Mae had to delete _Sorrow and Janus,_ a thriller disguised as a trashy romance movie, about two women who fall in love and one of them has depression, while the other one can’t choose between her or a guy she likes but the guy is secretly a killer or something. Mae was interested because trashy romance movies were her guilty pleasure (she was lonely, okay), there were lesbians involved (Mae was positive Janus, the one who couldn’t choose between the other woman and the guy, was just unsure about her sexuality), and it had good reviews. She became _really_ interested when it got super intense. The trailer had shown only the drama, sex, and romance!

Lori had been going through a lot of shit lately, most likely because she ran away, so Mae was fine with deleting the movie in exchange for the current one (she hadn’t finished it, but she could always download it again, later).

“It’s so bad, it’s good,” Mae said. She was also glad to have something to do other than look out the window. “Gregg, look! It’s just ketchup, or something, dude.” Gregg kept his eyes covered and shook his head rapidly.

“No way. Angus, tell them to watch something eeelse.” He whined. Bea rolled her eyes in the front seat.

“Gregg, it’s just a movie,” Bea said. Gregg’s ears were flattened.

“ A scary movie!” Gregg argued. Angus chuckled in the front seat as they began a long turn on the windy road.

“Gregg, it’s going to be fine. Plus, you’re watching it on that small screen. It can’t be that scary.” Angus explained, smiling. He really appreciated everyone in the car. Mae held up the phone so that Angus could see what was going on in the rearview mirror, even if it was backward. “Oh, wow, that’s scary.” He said, his smile immediately disappearing. He turned back and looked at the road, shook.

“See!” Gregg said. “Cap’n Angus gets it.”

“You guys are big gay chickens. Yes, there’s probably a cock joke there.” Mae said, pulling the phone back down after Lori tugged her sleeve. The mouse’s things were on Mae’s feet because there was no more room in the trunk and Mae swore it would be fine. It was kind of heavy, honestly. “It’s not like you’ve been watching most of the movie, or anything!” She frowned at the fox.

“Yeah, but _that_ scene is horrifying,” Gregg said. “If I wanted to watch something vore someone, I would have gone to Tumblr.”

“That’s a low blow to Tumblr.” Mae frowned.

“Okay but, like, can’t we watch another movie?” The fox asked.

“We can change it,” Lori said, starting to breathe faster. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry *huff*. I didn’t mean *huff huff* to. I’m sorry.” Everyone looked at her, taken aback by the sudden change, except for Mae. She was so calm a few seconds ago!

“Uh…” Was all Gregg could muster. Mae put a paw on Lori’s shoulder.

“We don’t have to change it.” She said, calmly. “Gregg’s just being what he has.”

“Oh yeah, and what’s that?” Gregg’s head snapped to her.

“A little weenie,” Mae said, trying to keep a straight face. Gregg’s face turned red and he looked out the window.

“Maybe you guys should just enjoy the scenery,” Angus suggested, wanting this trip to be as nature filled as possible. I mean, how often do they get to go out and explore the country? Never. He also thought the joke was funny, being the only one that knew what Gregg had, but he definitely didn’t show it or confirm it.

“Either way, we’re close to our destination,” Bea said. Lori switched the phone off and handed it to Mae. “You okay, Lori?” She was a bit concerned about what happened with the young mouse.

“Sorry,” Lori repeated.

“Lori, it’s fine. Really.” The cat put the phone in her pocket. “I can’t wait to get to somewhere that isn’t connected to cults or dissociation or anything like that.”

Gregg looked at his boyfriend, whose hands were gripped firmly on the steering wheel. “Oh yeah, babe. Where we riding to, anyway?” His cheeks were still a bit red from the joke.

“Durkillesburg,” Bea answered for him since Angus was a little preoccupied with driving.

Mae felt something shatter inside. If anything had been funny before, absolutely nothing was funny now. Her eyes bulged and she stared blankly. It looked like she was possessed, almost. “D-Did you say...Durkillesburg...” Lori blinked, watching her.

“What’s wrong with Durkillesburg?” She asked. When Mae didn’t answer, Lori turned to Gregg, who was looking at Mae.

“Durkillesburg is where Mae went to college,” Angus said, noticing a sign welcoming them to the town.

“Durkillesburg is also where Mae had a crazy brain thing and her mind died,” Gregg said.

“That’s not right,” Bea said. “Her Dissociation began six years ago.”

“Her what?” Lori blinked.

“It’s hard to explain,” Mae said, sighing. “WHY DO WE HAVE TO GO THERE, EXACTLY!?” Angus’ paws jerked on the steering wheel and the car swerved quickly. They all yelped, startled. Angus got the vehicle back in place.

“Don’t yell in the car!” The bear scolded. “I swear to god I will turn this car around if it happens again. You gave me a near heart attack!” What a mom.

“Sorry, I just don’t understand why the eff you guys are bringing me back to this place! I left for a good reason and I intended to never come back! That’s literally the exact opposite of where I want to be right now.” Mae crossed her arms. She looked at Angus in the mirror, scowling.

“Don’t look at me. It was Bea’s idea!” Angus said. Bea blinked.

“Wha...What the heck, Angus.” Bea frowned, totally thrown under the bus. She sighed and looked back at Mae. “Yeah. It was my idea.” The cat was looking daggers at the alligator so sharp that her black look could have beaten even Grumpy Cat’s glower. “Don’t give me that look. We’re only doing it because it was the closest town nearby. We’re going to check into a motel, and then continue the trip tomorrow. It’s not like you have to go in there.”

“But…” Mae looked out the window, still pissed and showing it. There was a long pause and a disgruntled exhale. “Fine.”

“I still don’t know what’s going on with Mae,” Lori said. “You said she had something called Dissociation. Is she gonna die?”

“Yeah. In about two hours, probably.” Gregg said, looking at his wrist as if he had a watch. He, unfortunately, didn’t find one in Don George’s basement. Lori’s ears perked and she quickly turned to Mae.

“Really!?” She didn’t move her gaze.

“No, not really,” Bea said. “Gregg’s just an idiot.”

“I was just messing with the kid…” Gregg huffed, turning to face the headrest of the front seat that Bea was in. He could see the roundness of her head there, but knew she probably couldn’t rest her head back because of those...things on her head? What even were those?

“You’re more of a kid than she is,” Angus commented.

“Okay, hon,” Gregg said. “But let me remind you…” He leaned forward and whispered something into Angus’ ear, and the bear flushed completely red with an embarrassed look on his face.

“Nevermind...There're only two kids in the car.” He mumbled.

“Wait. So Mae’s fine?” Lori asked, confused out of her little mouse mind. What had Gregg told Angus? She didn’t understand why he didn’t just say it out loud. Bea nodded her head.

“Well, she’s not going to die. She really does have Dissociation, but I’ll explain it to you later. I want to enjoy the sight of the college and long for what could have been.” She said, looking out of her window now.

Gregg snorted. “That’s so sad and depressing, Beatrice.”

“Yeah, well.” Was all Bea had to say.

“I don’t want to see that college, even if it’s the last thing I do,” Mae said, though she knew it was inevitable that they would pass it soon.

* * *

 

Durkillesburg University was the first thing that anyone would see if they were coming in from the east side of town like the gang was. The main building and dormitories came into view and Bea was in awe.

“So this is college. It doesn’t disappoint.” Bea said, mouth agape, staring at the large, modern looking building that honestly looked like something out of a dystopian future. It seemed like it would probably be hard to navigate behind those beautiful walls and windows.

“You’re not allowed to be impressed. It breaks character.” Gregg commented, but it was ignored. Did he really think Bea’s personality was only a monotone, blank-faced bitch who’s trying to quit smoking?

“I literally hate this so much,” Mae said, sinking in her seat.

“College looks confusing.” Lori mused.

“It is. In more ways than one.” The cat responded. _In a lot more ways than one..._

“At least that statue is kind of cool,” Angus said, pointing for a second, but returning to the wheel because he felt safer with two paws while driving. Mae frowned even more. _That effing statue...Always pointing at me..._

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a statue like that,” Lori said. She had planned not to talk very much, but it was the least she could do after they brought her along. Plus, the scary movie thing, even if they didn’t get to finish it. There was always later. Unless they died.

“It’s apparently “modern art” or some shit,” Mae grumbled. “It’s ugly. I bet the founder would be disappointed that he couldn’t even get a real statue.”

“It looks pretty rad to me,” Gregg said. “Everything else here is boring, though. Can we, like, stop talking about college?” He had planned to go to college, maybe, but those plans were thrown out the window when Angus came into his life. Things took a completely different direction. Gregg often wondered what things would be like if he had gone. Would he be a better person? Maybe he wouldn’t think of himself as such a useless piece of trash.

“A little college never hurt anybody,” Angus said. “I would have loved to take astronomy here.”

“Ugh, why does everyone want to go here so much? It sucks!” Mae spat. “You can learn astronomy from Mr. Chazakov, Angus!” Angus felt like that would be weird. He never had the science teacher, so he didn’t know him at all.

“Because it’s the only college near our crummy town,” Bea said, matter-of-factly. Lori leaned a little over Mae, scanning out the window.

“Where is everyone?” She asked, watching a tree wiggle with the wind in the center of the courtyard.

“Well, it’s late, so everyone is probably in their dorms,” Bea explained. “Plus, it’s really cold outside. Look, there’s someone over there.” She pointed at a light blue cat that was sitting in the tree the mouse had been observing.

“Oh wow, there is. Why’s he wearing shorts and a tee shirt, though?” Angus asked, turning to look back at the road after he saw the cat in the tree.

Lori blinked, her brows furrowing. “Wait, I didn’t even notice them there?” _There definitely wasn’t anyone in that tree before..._ She thought, bewildered.

“That’s very good,” Gregg said, smiling at her. She turned her head back, the seatbelt making its zipping noise, looking at him, confused.

“You called them they. You should never assume someone’s gender, dude.” Gregg said.

“What are you, her mom?” Mae said, now also looking back at him, smiling. Now Lori looked at the cat, and her eyes said it all. “Shit, sorry, that was uncalled for.”

“It’s fine…” Lori said, looking back at the tree. “Oh, he’s gone.” The cat was indeed not in the tree anymore, and he didn’t seem to be anywhere around it. _What the…?_

“I’m sure your mom is a neat chick,” Gregg said. Mae gave him a stern look, and he shook his head, not understanding what the fuss was about. Mae slid a finger across her throat.

“That reminds me of a time I mistook a woman for a man,” Gregg said.

“What?” Lori asked, not even seeing what Mae had been trying to warn the fox about. He fixed the collar on his leather jacket and yawned.

“I was talking about the gender thing I was talking about earlier,” Gregg explained.

“You probably should have said something,” Bea said. She had been paying attention the whole time because she _did_ get what Mae was trying to say. Angus turned his head and glanced at her.

“Gregg’s mind is a train that is, like, constantly switching tracks. If you’re riding it, you gotta be ready for things to change at any time.” The bear said.

“Yeah, I thought you guys would’ve known this by now,” Gregg said. Bea and Mae shrugged, while Lori just watched. “Anway, so I was working at the Snacko Falco and this goat guy came in. Let’s just say, we got into a conversation about music, or something, and I called him ‘he’ and ‘dude’ and ‘man’ and he kept sending these looks that were like ‘I’m going to stab you and then poison you’ and so I kept doing it and finally he told me he was a girl and I was like, ‘Ooohhh shiiiit, sorry dude, you totally look like a guy.’ So he gives me the bird and I’m confused for a moment, then I get it, and I try to apologize but he’s already gone.” Gregg told everyone, looking out the window at a light car crash as they passed by. “His taste in music wasn’t that great, anyway. Sorry your mom’s dead, dude.” He finished, looking at Lori.

Everyone was silent.

“The bird???” Lori raised a brow.

“It’s the middle finger,” Bea said.

“Ah.” Lori nodded.

“There was literally so many things wrong with that story,” Bea said.

“Oh, good, I thought I was the only one that noticed.” Angus smiled a bit.

“I thought it was sad,” Mae said. “That poor girl probably hates you, maybe even men, now.”

“I agree with Mae, that is sad,” Lori said, but her mind was screaming, _Why did he just tell everyone my mom was dead!?_ _At least no one said anything..._ They had driven past the college by now.

“Gregg, you called her ‘him’ the whole time you were telling the story,” Bea said. “You literally made the same exact mistake you made back then.”

“What?” Gregg tilted his head. There was a short pause. “Ohhhh, haha, I did.” Bea rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“At least I know why Jackie hates men and the Snack Falcon now,” Bea said.

“Oh, I was so confused what a ‘Snacko Falco’ was.” Mae laughed. Everyone except Lori shook their head.

“Just try to be more careful with pronouns, bug,” Angus said to his hypocrite boyfriend.

“Aye aye, Cap’n. Sorry.” Gregg said.

“Ayyy, we arrived at the motel!” Mae said, thankful they were away from prison, er, college. Seeing it still made her day suck a bit.

“I hope there are rats inside our room. I wanna keep one.” Lori said. “And a DVD player.”

“No way, rats are terrifying. The town is crawling with them!” Gregg said, shuddering. “Those beady red eyes...Eugh…”

“You’re welcome,” Mae said.

“You did that?” Lori asked, surprised, her mouth forming a smile.

“Aw yeah, I’m the Rat Queen,” Mae smirked coolly.

“Yes, thank you for infesting our town with rodents that are probably crawling with various diseases,” Bea said, blankly.

“You’re welcome!” Mae repeated, looking proud of herself.

“I guarantee you the mayor is going to hire an exterminator or more and kill them all,” Angus said, turning into an empty parking space. The lines were too narrow, and the bear thought that was bullshit.

“Nooo, they can’t kill my babies! I will personally find a way back into The Mines and find Gregg’s crossbow and shoot whoever tried to harm them.” Mae explained.

“Don’t hurt the precious Boys,” Lori said. She remembered Mae teaching her that a group of living things that you adore are The Boys, even if they were girls. It completely made sense and was fun to say, truthfully.

“They’re probably not all boys,” Bea said. “Didn’t we just have a conversation about this with Gregg?”

“This is different, Beabea. They are The Boys.” Mae said. “You don’t get it because you don’t have Tumblr.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Gregg asked.

“The. Boys.” Mae said. “It’s a Tumblr thing.” Lori only knew Tumblr things because whenever they would hang out, sometimes Mae would share funny Tumblr posts with her.

“How come I didn’t know that?” Gregg asked, putting his phone in his pocket.

“Because you posted one thing that didn’t make any sense and then you barely used it after that?” Angus answered. Gregg was silent. Anyway, why not just borrow Jen’s crossbow?” Angus asked. “It’s easier.”

“Hey, don’t bring my cousin--” Gregg began.

“We’re here, remember!” Bea cut in. “Let’s get out of this cramped car and get rooms.”

“Sounds good. I’m actually pretty tired.” Lori said. Running away was exhausting in all ways. She suddenly found herself mentally testing a motel bed. It ended up being really soft and comfortable, and she had the urge to pass out on it. “Beds are cool.”

“Well, actually, we’re probably going to go eat as soon as we get settled in,” Angus said, his stomach growling as if it was confirming what he just said. Lori frowned, wanting to rest, but it’s not like she was the one that got to choose what they did. She was just along for the ride.

“Oh my god, yes let’s do that,” Gregg said, leaning forward and nodding excitedly. Mae pumped her fist, cheering, but it died as soon as she punched the roof.

“Ahhh, shit.” She held her paw, wincing. “Yep. That felt great. I really liked that.”

“Okay, let’s go,” Bea said, and the group was in motion, ready to stretch their legs and breathe in the fresh air outside, especially Mae, whose feet had fallen asleep under the weight of Lori’s belongings.

  
  



	14. Five Stars

Chapter 14 - Five Stars 

“Ewww, let’s get back in the car!” Gregg said, holding himself and shivering a bit, looking at Angus. It had gotten chillier as it got later in the day. “I hate the cold…”

“We’re already at the motel,”  Bea said, looking over at them. Her voice was raised because the wind had picked up speed and was whipping around them. “Let’s just get our rooms.”

“What do we do with our stuff?” Mae asked, looking in the rear window at all of their things. Angus turned to Bea.

“What do you think?” he asked, “Should we take all the food in?”

“I think it’ll be okay,” she responded, looking in the back window as well. “We should probably get our suitcases so we have something to change into, though.”

“What about the rooming situation? Who’s rooming where?”

“We can figure that out in a second.”

“Okay.” He opened the trunk. “Alright, everyone. Get your things and let’s meet in the office.”

“I’ll go wait over there,” Lori said, already moving, having already gotten her backpack and satchel out of the backseat. She walked up onto the pavement and waited, feeling the rough textures of the uneven stones. She felt lucky that she had decided to wear her hoodie. Then again, she always wore it. The jacket had a nice soft inside that not only felt amazing but kept you warm too. Unfortunately, it was too hot to wear in the summer, so Lori wore a thin flannel at that time.

“Let’s hurry this up,” Gregg said, reaching forward to pull his suitcase out. “I wanna get out of this effin’ weather.” When he nearly knocked things over, Angus was there to stop them from falling. It had startled the fox, and he pulled his paw back. His boyfriend grinned at him.

“Be patient, hon,” he started, “Wait till there isn’t a ton of shit on your stuff.” He pushed everything back so that it was in place.

“Oh my gooooddd, you guys are taking forever,” Mae groaned. “Can we hurry this up? I’m wearing a short-sleeved shirt and thin pants.” Gregg turned and looked at her.

“That’s your fault,” he and Bea said in unison, making Angus chuckle.

“You know, Mae, if you weren’t rushing, which is the lesson here, you would probably be nice and warm right now. And Gregg. In hindsight, you probably shouldn’t have worn your leather jacket. It _is_ winter after all,” he explained.

The fox looked down at his black leather jacket and frowned. “It looks really cool though. This is my favorite thing I have to wear! I wouldn’t not bring it…” _It’s not like you told me not to wear it or anything..._

“Okay, I’m just gonna…” Mae said as she squeezed between them, grabbing her red suitcase and pulling it off of the pile, successfully knocking nothing over. “Alright, I’m gonna go wait with Lori.” She walked off.

“Now you can get your things.”  Angus patted his head, and, frowning, Gregg grabbed his black suitcase, pulling it out and bringing it to his side. He extended the handle and moved a bit out of the way. He _would_ go wait with Mae and Lori, but why would he do that when he Angus was right here? It may be cold, but if he didn’t have to be more than a few feet away from his lover, he wasn’t going to.

Angus moved a few things around so as not to crush the bags and boxes of food. He grabbed his rather large grey suitcase and pulled it out, then went to stand next to Gregg, putting an arm around him. The fox was smiling now. They were waiting for Bea because they weren’t going to be dicks and leave her alone.

Bea got her green suitcase and then shut the trunk, looking at the duo. “Ready?” The boys nodded. The three of them, Angus’ arm still around Gregg, walked to meet with the group on the pavement.

“It’s so cold, can we please go inside already?” Mae asked, looking at the cozy looking office through the door’s slim windows.

“You could have waited inside,” Bea said.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Angus said to meet in the office.”

“Lori, why didn’t you tell me?” Mae turned to the young mouse, who was distracted by a weird looking bug on her boot.

“Why are we still out here?” Gregg asked, moving and pulling Angus along with him to the door. He reached forward and opened it, already feeling the warmth emanating from inside. The two guys repositioned so that they could fit through the opening, the group following, and soon they all sighed in relief at the heat that now replaced the chill in their bones.

“Oh, there’s no smoking inside,” A sweet voice said. The gang’s heads all turned in the direction of the sound. Sitting behind the counter that had nothing but a bell on it was a small deer lady with an unfaltering smile. She wore a button-down with tropical flowers on it, as if she was on vacation in Hawaii or something, which was ironic considering the weather. She had large gold hoop earrings that hung down from her ears and she was chewing gum, fortunately not smacking it like some people. She wasn’t overweight, but she wasn’t skinny either. Bea took the dummy cigarette out of her mouth.

“It’s fake. I’m trying to quit,” she explained, touching the tip to show it wasn’t hot and that the usually lit end wouldn’t crumble into black dust under the weight of her digit.

“Oh, sorry. Can I help ya’ll?” the woman asked, her southern accent very apparent with the first words she had spoken. She looked at all of them, especially Lori. Why did these young folks have a young child with them?

“Give us a sec,” Angus said, holding a finger and turning to Bea. “Me and Gregg in one room, and you, Mae, and Lori in another?” He raised a brow. Gregg looked up at him, smiling. His man seemed to be acting so mature, it was different in a good way. He hoped he’d be seeing more of that during the trip.

Bea was silent for a moment. “I was thinking I could have my own room, and Mae and Lori could share their own.”

“Wouldn’t it be more financially--” But Bea’s eyes told him she didn’t want to be alone with Mae and Lori in a small room all night. He nodded. “Sounds good.” The mouse and the cat were sitting on chairs by the faux fireplace and having an indistinct conversation.

Bea stepped up to the counter, looking at the deer’s name tag. “Hi, Sunny. We’d like three rooms.”

“Awright,” Sunny nodded, turning and typing something in on her old looking computer. “Who’s rooming with who?”

“I’m rooming with Angus,” Gregg immediately responded, even though he knew that would be the case from the beginning. He was just excited! Angus leaned down and kissed his cheek.

“For sure.” Angus smiled as Gregg beamed at him. The lady made a face and put a hand on her heart, smiling.

“Well, now! Ya’ll are just about the cutest darn couple that ever came into this office, bless your hearts,” she squealed. “And trust me, I’ve seen a whole lotta ‘em. Don’t worry your sweet little faces about paying. The room’s on me, yes sirree.”

“Hehe, that rhymed,” Mae chimed from where she was sitting. She turned back to continue listening to Lori talk about a plan to finish the movie they were watching before.

“Wait, really? You can do that?” Bea asked, pulling out her credit card from her phone case/wallet because it really was convenient.

“Naw, not really. But ain’t nobody gonna find out,” Sunny smiled, still looking at Gregg and Angus, who now felt a little uncomfortable because the only one that really ever fangirled over their love was Mae. This was new. Angus’ stomach growled, and he placed a paw on it.

“Just go for it, Bea,” he said, “I’m starving.”

“It’s a free room, Beatrice,” Gregg said, shaking his head. “Might as well take it! I’m also hungry, so that’s a thing.”

“Okay, then I’ll take two rooms. I’m rooming alone and those two,” she gestured to Mae and Lori, “are rooming together.”

“Oh, sorry, dear. Children gotta room with an adult,” Sunny explained, looking at Mae. Gregg started laughing, looking over at her as well. He hummed the Windows closing theme.

“Do do do do…” And almost everyone in the room except Bea laughed. “Looks like momma Bea has some parenting to do,” the fox smirked.

“Ugh, no. She’s 20, okay?” The alligator looked at Sunny who shrugged and shook her head.

“I’m gonna need to see an ID from you, miss,” she pointed to Bea, “and you, girl,” she finished. Mae frowned, groaning, and got up, Lori observing from the comfort of her leather chair.

“I really am 20!” Mae argued. “I didn’t bring anything on the trip…”

“You didn’t think to bring at least an ID?” Angus asked, blinking. “I thought it was common knowledge to bring it everywhere, just in case.” Meanwhile, Bea was showing Sunny her ID. The deer inspected it with observant eyes, as if it were important evidence in a court case and she might miss something if she blinked.

“Good thing I have mine,” Gregg said, holding up his wallet, smiling proudly.

“That’s great, Gregg, but it’s not going to help us in this situation,” Angus said. The fox shrugged and opened his wallet to find none other than Mae’s ID!

“Oh shit, where did I get this?” He blinked, holding up the card. It was a learner’s permit, which Mae had gotten intending to drive a car, but the first time she tried, she ended up rear-ending a car in the parking lot she was practicing in. The experience shook her, and she pretty much avoided driving at all costs now. Besides, a person like Mae Borowski on the road? Are they just asking for the death count to go up in America? Her parents made her renew the card every time it expired, just in case she wanted to give driving another go.

Mae’s eyes lit up. “Oh yeah,” she plucked it out of his hand. “I gave it to you for one of our crimes, remember?”

“Oh, yeah! That was a good one!” He gave her a toothy grin, then looked at Angus. “See, crimes can be good! Now Mae has her ID.”

“‘Scuse me? Crimes?” Sunny blinked, concerned.

“You guys commit crimes?” Lori asked, her ears twitching with the crackling of the fake fire. “I didn’t expect that from Mae.” _Looking at how Gregg dresses as a bad boy, I’m not surprised._

“Yes, I knew the bad boy look was working,” Gregg pumped his fist. “That’s great.”

“Anyways, crimes just means pranks,” Angus told sunny, nudging the fox’s shoulder. “It’s nothing to be concerned about.”

“Mae, just show her your ID so we can get on with it,” Bea said, already having reclaimed hers from the deer, who was being very patient with them, thankfully. The cat did as she was asked and Sunny inspected it, then handed it back with a nod.

“Looks good. Sorry, you just look young,” she said to Mae, who shrugged. It happened a lot. “Three rooms, coming up.” She typed a few more things into that big chunky computer of hers and then handed Bea, Mae, and Angus keys. “Room 21, room 22, and room 4.”

“Aw yiss, let’s get the heck outta here,” Gregg said. He had been wrapped in Angus’ arm the whole time, and he still didn’t move.

“C’mon, Lorianne,” Mae said, beckoning to the mouse who was still in the chair.

“That’s not even my name. Lori isn’t short for anything,” Lori explained, getting up and joining her.

“Ya’ll are some characters, I’ll tell ya,” Sunny chuckled. “Ya’ll have a good rest of your day, now.”

“Thanks for everything, Sunny. We will enjoy the free room,” Angus tipped his hat and with another “bless your heart” from the deer, he and Gregg exited the office after telling everyone they would meet at the car in fifteen minutes.

“Yeah, thanks,” Bea said, moving to the door.

“See ya, Sunny,” Mae waved, following the alligator out with Lori close behind. The mouse didn’t say anything to Sunny because she had nothing to say.

The door shut behind them and they were once again out in the cold. It was still the middle of the day. The group could see Gregg and Angus in the distance, walking and talking. Mae smiled, hoping everyone’s room was nice and the beds were comfortable.

The cat, the alligator, and the mouse began walking, passing doors with chipped paint and corroding knobs. The ground was uneven beneath their feet, making it a pretty uncomfortable texture to walk on. Their suitcases made loud grinding noises against the rocky pavement.

“I’m, like, so hungry,” Mae said, rubbing her stomach. “I hope we get settled in quick.”

“Yeah. Think about what we should eat,” Bea said.

“I’m just tired,” Lori said. “I can’t wait for tonight so I can sleep.”

“You can just take a nap when we get back,” Bea suggested.

“Maybe,” Lori shrugged. “I’ll see how I’m feeling then.” It didn’t take long for them to reach their rooms.

“I’ll see you guys in a bit,” Bea said, approaching her door and sticking her key in the lock. It took a bit of wiggling and shaking and repositioning of the key, but the lock finally turned and Bea went inside, shutting the door behind her.

“That was funny,” Mae said, smiling. “Yay, let’s go!”

“Okay,” Lori nodded, following her one door down. “Can I do it?”

“You don’t need to ask me twice,” Mae said, handing her the key. Lori inserted it into the lock and it opened much easier than Bea’s did. Lori grabbed the knob and tried turning it, but the whole thing was loose and shaky and she had to get help from Mae to open it. Finally, the door swung open, revealing a rather empty room with two queen-sized beds.

Lori walked in, immediately turning her head to where a television would be, but felt a bit of disappointment as there was none to be found. At least they had GoMovi! She put her luggage against the wall and then immediately went to flop on the bed that was on the right side of the room. _Comfort, here I come!_

All hopes and dreams were shattered when she collided with rock that called itself a mattress. Lori laid there for a moment, blinking. “Well...The beds feel great.” There was also that wonderful squealing noise of the metal frame.

Mae shut the door and put her suitcase next to Lori’s. It was pitch black now, but Mae remembered where everything was. “Really? Aw, yeah.” She ran and jumped to face plant on her own bed, and found all hope of comfort was lost when she also felt the rough mattress smack into her. “Shit...where has this amazing bed been all my life?”

“Yeah. What should we do while we wait for the others?” Lori asked, repositioning to sit on the edge of the bed, looking over at the jade colored lamp next to a small digital alarm clock on a mahogany nightstand. The red numbers were the only thing she could see in the blackness.

Mae sat up and felt the cut on her cheek that she had gotten a few days before. She still had some bruises, and she really felt them when she landed on the bed. “I dunno, but there are no windows in this room.”

“Yeah,” Lori nodded. “Turn the light on.” She heard the scrambling and squeaking sound of Mae getting up and the shuffling of her boots on the carpet. There was a clicking noise, followed by a pause, followed by multiple clicking noises. It was still dark.

“The light’s dead,” Mae said.

“Doesn’t your phone have a flashlight?” Lori asked. “Or we could just tell Sunny something’s up with the electricity.

“Nah, we’ve already paid for the room and stuff. Plus, we only have to deal with it for a night, so it’s not like it’s a big deal,” Mae explained, the sudden wavering squeaks once again filling the room as Mae sat at the foot of the bed. She waited for the sound to decrescendo and then commented; “I really love how the metal squeaks every time we move.”

“This is a top-notch room,” Lori smiled, appreciating this strange shared experience between them.

“Definitely.” The cat switched on the flashlight on her phone and turned around, illuminating the small figure of Lori Meyers on the other bed. “What’s that look for?”

“Nothing,” Lori shook her head. “I have to use the bathroom. Can I have that?”

“Sure,” Mae held the phone out and Lori took it, thanking her and then shining the light on her face.

“After that, wanna continue that movie?” Lori asked, thinking the room’s dark atmosphere was the perfect thing for horror movies.

“Um, hell yes,” Mae nodded. “I really like the character that uses the bat. She knows how to eff shit up.”

“Yeah,” Lori agreed. “Okay, I’ll be right back.” She got off the bed and, holding the phone, used it to lead the way to the bathroom.

After she was finished (at least the plumbing worked), the two of them sat on the edge of Lori’s bed, their feet dangling in the space between the two beds. They agreed not to take off their boots until they got back later, since getting comfortable too early would be a mistake.

* * *

 

Mae and Lori were a few minutes late to meet up with the others, who were already in the car when they got there. The cat opened the door and Lori crawled in again, once again sitting in the middle.

“Hi, guys,” Mae waved, shutting the door. She was now wearing a blue jacket and a red scarf that her mom had snuck into her suitcase. “Sorry we’re late.”

“Yeah, we got distracted,” Lori said.

“It’s fine. It’s only been a few minutes,” Bea said. “We were just talking about where we want to eat.”

“I’m in the mood for onion pierogies,” Gregg said, licking his lips. “That sounds so yummy.”

“I already told him that we’re trying to get away from town, so that’s unlikely,” Bea explained. She didn’t have a dummy cigarette in her mouth this time, which was surprising to Mae and Gregg. It didn’t really matter what she did to Lori or Angus.

“I suggested burgers,” Angus said.

“What about pizza?” Lori asked, looking at Mae.

“Oh, yeah! We had tacos the other day instead of crappy diner pizza, remember?” Mae asked.

“I just got an awesome idea,” Gregg clapped his now gloved paws together. He was wearing a proper jacket (still black) and a beanie.

“What’s that, bug?” Angus asked.

“No pierogies,” Bea said.

“I know, shut up,” Gregg rolled his eyes. “What if we go around and try all these different pizza places and see which one has the best pizza?”

“I like that idea,” Mae said. She could already taste the delicious pizza.

“I, too, think that idea isn’t half bad,” Angus said. He was still wearing the same clothes as always, seemingly unaffected by the cold.

“I bet there’s a bunch of different kinds of cheese pizzas. Those are my favorite.” Lori said.

“Maybe we’ll even find a place with cheese stuffed crust!” Gregg said, giddy that everyone was latching onto _his_ idea. The whole car filled with talk of how good stuffed crust pizza probably is. They didn’t have any restaurants that served it in their little town. Everyone seemed hooked on the idea, except for Bea, who stayed silent.

“What you think, Beabea? Are you ready for pizzaaaaa?” Mae smiled, poking her shoulder.

“I guess, yeah, if everyone wants to,” She looked out the window. _Even though I thought we were trying to get our minds off the town...Might as well just have gone with pierogies. I can’t say no, now. They’ve already built up Gregg so much._

Howls of excitement filled the car. Mae and Gregg chanted “Pizza” and everyone joined them. Angus pulled out of the parking space, beginning to tell a story about a kid obsessed with pizza in his scout days. Everyone listened, but it was too hard to resist thinking about the gooey cheese, the crispy pepperoni, and the stuffed crust...

It was pizza time.

 


	15. Rat-a-tat-a

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh frickin boy is this a trip

Chapter 15 - Rat-a-tat-a 

“So how’s the free room, lovebirds?” Mae asked, leaning on the table with both of her arms. They had found a pizza restaurant near the college that had free Wi-Fi (Mae was salty about the “near the college” part. Finding a booth inside, the gang ordered their drinks. There were more customers in the restaurant than they were used to, so they weren’t prepared for the constant hum of murmuring and laughing that filled the building. It became white noise after a while.

“As good as a free motel room can get,” Angus shrugged. “The plumbing doesn’t work.”

“Yeah,” Gregg nodded, “and there’s nothing to do in there. It’s sooo boooring…”

“Our plumbing works,” Mae said.

“But our electricity doesn’t,” Lori inserted. Mae nodded, yawning.

“But the alarm clock does for some reason,” the cat shrugged. Lori shook her head and turned to look at her.

“It’s battery powered, though. There’s no cord attached to it,” she explained.

“Oh, yeah,” Mae said. “You can use our shower if you want, guys.”

“No thanks. I’d rather not shower in the dark where I can slip and get a concussion,” Angus responded. “Thanks for the offer, Mae.”

“You guys can use mine,” Bea offered. “The only problem with my room is that the AC is broken.”

“Oof, that’s gotta suck,” Angus said, frowning. “But I mean, hey, if the plumbing works, might as well take advantage of what we have. It’s not like we’re staying here for more than a night, anyway.”

The waiter approached the table with a smile, setting the pie they ordered down. They thanked him (or her?) and he/she walked off.

“Lori and I don’t care about showers, anyway,” Mae continued the previous conversation, shrugging and biting a slice of pizza, letting the strings of cheese hang down between her mouth and the triangle before severing the connections with a quick motion of her head.

“Um, I never said that,” Lori commented. “I actually like showers.”

“Thank you,” Bea said.

“Gross,” Gregg said, making a face.

“I think it’s gross feeling gross. Like, I love nature and I’d love to live in some abandoned house, or something, but the hardest part of that would be sacrificing showers.” Lori explained, picking the toppings of her slice off. The mouse had wanted cheese, but the others wanted to get their classic pepperoni pizza to start the “game” off. That was fine, but it didn’t mean she was going to eat the little thin circles of meat.

“What about your movies?” Mae asked. “And didn’t you--” She cut herself off.

“What?” Lori asked, tilting her head a bit. Mae shook her head. She was going to say something about Lori sacrificing showers when she ran away from home, but the group didn’t know she had done that, so…

“Nothing. I forgot what I was gonna say.”

“Well, okay.”

“Everybody has to shower,” Angus said, pushing up his glasses. “That means you, Mae and Gregg.” There were groans from the cat and the fox. “End of discussion.”

* * *

 

“Oh, shit, we forgot to talk about the pizza,” Mae said, looking at Gregg.

“I give it about an eight out of ten,” Gregg said, licking his lips. “Better than what we got at Possum Springs.”

“I give it about a seven,” Bea said, looking out the window at their motel they were pulling up to.

“Seven,” Angus said with a nod.

“It was a six for me. It was kinda eh. Lori? What about you?” Mae asked.

“Like, a nine,” Lori said. “Really gooey cheese. I love that.”

“But the pepperoni was so crunchy, blegh!” Mae shook her head, sticking her tongue out.

“I liked that!” Greg argued as the car pulled into the same parking spot it had last time.

“We can talk about it more later. We were there a lot longer than I expected. It’s late,” Angus said, adding a fake yawn for effect. The gang was at the pizza place so long because of shenanigans and conversations they all got really into.

Apparently, unbeknownst to them, they all really liked the movie with the creepy clown that ate children, even though Gregg is terrified of clowns, but he could handle it for some reason. Angus really liked the idea of the creature itself. Mae liked that it was a bunch of kids kicking a clown’s ass. Bea liked how accessible it was, and appreciated all the characters. Lori liked the whole thing but thought there were too many predictable jump scares, which was disappointing. It was understandable, though, since it was rated R movie targeting teenagers and up. No one had read the book it was based on, unfortunately.

They had gotten into other conversations and debates and messed around, having a lot of fun. That was the point of the road trip, right? None of them were even thinking about The Mines. Lori just felt more assured that everything was going to be just fine, and that these people she was traveling with were awesome.

“Yeah, I’m super ready for a shower in the dark and sleep,” Lori said.

“You can use my room’s shower,” Bea reminded her.

“I’m good. I bet showering in the dark is rad.” Lori said. She didn’t use that word before she met them. Mae just felt proud.

“I’ll be in the room, too,” The cat said to Bea.

“Lori’s doomed,” Gregg snickered. Angus shut the car off and everyone began to move out. “Have fun with your weird shower, nerds.”

“We will,” Mae smiled.

“Okay, well, goodnight everyone,” Bea said, eager to bathe and sleep. Angus put his arm around Gregg again.

“Night, Bea. Night, guys.” The bear said, waving.

“Night night, Beabea,” Mae waved.

“Sleep well, Bea,” Lori said. The alligator nodded and made a beeline for her room.

Mae turned to Gregg and Angus. “See you guys tomorrow! Try not to disturb the neighbors. The walls are thin,” Mae laughed. Lori blinked. Why this.

“We have common decency, Mae,” Angus frowned.

“Plus, I don’t think I even wanna _sleep_ on that bed,” Gregg added.

“Agreed. The floor is better,” Angus kissed his cheek and tousled the fur on his head. “Let’s go, bug. I wanna get my things so I can shower.”

“Okay,” Gregg smiled affectionately at him.

“Night,” Lori grinned at them. “C’mon Mae, I’m tired.” She tugged her sleeve. The two duos waved and then split up, heading towards their respective rooms.

* * *

 

_In Mae and Lori’s room…_

 

Mae shut the door, yawning. “Gotta love that dank darkness.”

“What does dank even mean?” Lori asked, her voice moving farther away from the cat.

“I dunno, but it sounds funny,” Mae said. “Also, my phone died.”

“So charge it?” Lori said, like that was obvious.

“Uh, hello, our electricity is out?”

“Oh, yeah. Go ask Bea if she can charge it.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back,” Mae said, turning around and opening the door, walking out and shutting it behind her.

When she came back in, Lori was pulling clothes out of her backpack on her bed. “That was quick.”

“Well, she said hers broke. She plans to use Angus and Gregg’s. What about yours?” Mae asked, feeling her way toward the bed and then sitting down, supposedly facing the young mouse.

“I don’t have a phone, remember?”

“Right. I forgot.”

“You can just use the guys’ tomorrow. It’s not like you need it tonight anyway.”

“But our mooovie…”

“I’m too tired for that. I just wanna get some sleep. Sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m sure I’ll fall asleep before you even get out of the shower.” Mae shrugged, looking at the alarm clock. It was already around ten! _Wow…We really were there longer than I thought…_

“Maybe,” Lori shrugged. “Dude, today was so long. It already feels like I’ve been gone from home forever.”

“Yeah, I agree with that,” Mae sighed, laying back and looking at the blank ceiling. She frowned. “Hopefully every day isn’t like this.”

“Who knows?” Lori shook her head, moving to go to the bathroom. “See you in a bit.”

“Mkay.” Mae was already closing her eyes. “Be careful in the dark.”

“I will,” the mouse said, finding her way to the bathroom and shutting the door behind her.

The cat had dozed off quickly as the young teen prepared for a nice relaxing shower. Her ears twitched as the sound of the shower curtain was heard. The water turned on, but the sound of it pattering against the bottom of the tub was not heard. It was more of a muted sound as it hit something big that occupied the space.

Lori’s brows furrowed. _What the…_ She wasn’t prepared for the unusual sound at all. She couldn’t see a thing, so she reached out her paw, feeling something hard and round. _What’s this…? Woah, what if it’s a dead body? That would be awesome!_ She found herself excited at the thought of finding something so incredible as a dead guy. It would be just like in the movies! Maybe there was even a serial killer about! _Sweet._

She turned around and felt around for her clothes and slipped them on quickly. Then, getting on her knees and crawling toward the tub, she reached a paw out again and felt whatever was in the shower. “Hello? If you’re dead, don’t say anything.” No response. _Ooh, boy!_

“Huh? Why am I all wet?” An unfamiliar voice said, causing Lori to jump backward, yelping.

“MAE, THERE’S A GUY IN THE TUB!” The mouse shouted, then slipped on the little rug and fell on her behind with a yelp.

“Who’s there?” The man asked.

“MAE!” Lori called again, scrambling to her feet and searching for the doorknob.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” the man said, getting up. “Everything’s fine.”

“You’re supposed to be a dead guy!” Lori said, feeling disappointed. The bathroom door opened and smacked Lori, who was behind it.

“Ow!” she cried, holding her nose as the other two animals heard a loud thumping sound as it struck her.

“Oh, shit, sorry,” Mae whispered, wincing. No one could literally see anything. This was ridiculous. “Guy, who are you?”

“I clean the rooms. Thought I could have a break in here, but I guess not,” he explained, stepping out of the tub (nearly tripping, at that). The fool was still wet, so he was getting water everywhere, and he decided he maybe better stay in the tub.

“You didn’t think someone would maybe take the room?” Mae asked, not believing this.

“Oh no, miss. Definitely not,” the man said.

“Why?” Lori asked.

“This motel is haunted,” the man said casually.

“Wooooahh...That’s awesome!” Lori cheered. Mae was still standing in the same place, but now she moved in and bumped into Lori.

“Oops, sorry. How do we know _you’re_ not a ghost, dude?” the cat asked, squinting, though it was not seen.

“Because, if I was a ghost dude, then I wouldn’t be sleeping in this tub,” he responded.

“Oh, I guess that makes sense. Ghosts don’t need sleep,” Mae said. “Well, uh, can you leave our bathroom so my daughter can shower?

Lori’s ears perked. _Daughter?_ Mae was just snickering at the joke in her head.

“Hand me a towel,” the man said, holding out his paw. Mae felt around in the blackness and felt the cloth of one of the towels.

“Here,” she said, and he took it, quickly drying his body off, leaving his clothes heavy and damp.

“Sorry about all this, miss, uh…What’s your name?” he asked.

“Vuvuzela,” Mae couldn’t help but let her lips curl into a smile, but the way she said it, it came out “voo-voo-zay-luh.”

“Sorry, Ms. Vuvuzela,” the man said, stepping out of the shower.

“I guess you already knew about the electricity being out?” Lori asked, then turning to Mae and whispering, “Let’s get out of the bathroom.” The two of them began to move, the man following. They couldn’t even tell what animal he might be, but Mae imagined it might be a dog of some sort, like Garbo.

The cat walked to where she remembered the door of their room was and opened it, the light from the rustic looking lamp outside pouring in. Lori had gone and sat on her bed, crossing her legs and looking outside. She blinked. _Did something just move out there?_

“Hmm, you look a little young to be a mother, Mae,” the man said, and both Mae and Lori got shivers up their spine.

“Uh...How did you know my name?” the cat asked, her paw still on the doorknob.

“No reason,” the man said, stepping into the light. Mae gasped, putting a hand over her mouth and stepping back a little.

“Don George!?” _But but but, his voice…._

“Hello, again, Mae. I’ll be on my way now,” the old raccoon said, walking past the cat, whose maw was frozen open. She was stuck in place, as if someone had glued her boots to the carpet. He turned and walked to the left, disappearing from their view.

“You know that guy?” Lori asked.

“Uh huh…” Mae blinked, then shook her head, closing her mouth. She sprung into action, hopping out of the room. All Lori could see was that she was looking around frantically.

“What are the odds you know someone that cleans rooms in a dingy motel?” the mouse chuckled, the bed squeaking as she shifted a bit.

“He’s gone?” Mae had a look of utter confusion on her face.

“Maybe it wasn’t the same guy,” Lori shrugged, moving to the edge of the bed.

“He knew my name and said ‘hello, again!’”

“Oh, true...Okay, well, I guess this is pretty weird, then.”

“Yeah, no shit. It was literally the same raccoon that I met, but his voice sounded different. And he definitely doesn’t clean rooms here. He lives in Possum Springs!”

“I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe we just imagined it.”

“Imagined it? You’re telling me two separate people imagined up the exact same thing and saw it?”

“Oh, I guess not. I did touch him, now that I think about it…”

“What the hell is going on?”

“I’m going to continue my shower,” Lori said, yawning. “Then I’m gonna hit it. I’m too tired to process this.”

“Be careful,” Mae said, her mind completely scrambled. “I’m just going to lay down and pretend that never happened.

“I will,” Lori said, returning to the bathroom. Mae shut the door and made her way to the bed, dazed. She crawled onto it and laid face down, half of her face on the bed and the other half staring down at the beige carpet.

As soon as she shut the door, a rat came scampering out from under Mae’s bed, and the cat squeaked, startled. “Don’t scare me like that, you beautiful boy!” The rat squeaked as if to respond and ran to the door, jumping on his hind legs and scratching at the chipped white paint. “Ugggh...nooo...I don’t want to get uuup…” Mae whined. “Can’t you just wait till tomorrow?”

The rat kept scratching, the tiny scraping sounds not ceasing. “Nooo…” the cat groaned, “I’m lazyyy…” The scraping increased speed and got louder. “Ugh...Fine!” She grumbled as she got up and walked to the door, yawning as she once again opened it, the rat jumping out of the way.

The smaller creature ran outside, turning its head to Mae. It just stood there looking at her, it’s beady eyes unmoving. “What?” Mae asked. “I let you outside, already. I don’t have any food!” It stayed, unmoving. Mae stared back at it.

“Oh my god, just get out here!” The rat said, frustrated after the silence lasted too long.

Wait.

The.

Rat.

Said.

“You can talk!?” Mae blinked. “I must have fallen asleep while Lori was in the shower because this is totally a dream. First Don George, and now a talking rat!?” There was a moment of thought. “This is the coolest thing ever! Too bad it’s not real.”

“Shh, keep it down!” the rat squeaked. “You’re not dreaming. Follow me. I need to show you something.”

“Whatever you say, dream rat.” Mae cooed, stepping out and shutting the door.

“Over here,” the rat began moving down the pavement, “And stop calling me dream rat!”

“Well, that’s what you are! Rats don’t talk. If they did, then our beautiful rat infested town would be buzzing with conversation, especially at night,” the cat explained, quietly walking behind her tiny company.

“You infested your town with rats? That’s terrible!” the rat exclaimed.

“Why? You’re a rat, I’d think you’d appreciate it.” Mae blinked, confused as all heck.

“Because think about it. Not only are people afraid of rats, but they also like to kill them. Plus, all the rat droppings around your town. Oof.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me. As their mother, I will protect my babies until I die.”

“Or until they die.”

“Stooop.”

“Sorry, but it’s true. We’re here.” The rat stopped, sitting on its hind legs. Mae turned her head to discover the door of the office. A lamp from behind them made it easier to see. She pressed her face to the glass surface of the window, seeing the soft orange glow in the fresh ash of the fireplace. “Stay right here,” the mini animal said, running off. Where to? Mae didn’t see.

A few moments later, there was a clicking noise, and the knob of the door turned slowly. Mae watched, mesmerized. The door slowly swung open, moved by an invisible force, it seemed. _This has to be a dream,_ Mae reminded herself. _This is a dream._ “Hello? Dream rat?”

“I’m in here. Close the door,” the now familiar voice responded. Mae did as she was told. She didn’t understand what was happening, but it was enticing and she really wanted to see where it went. “Now, hold out your hand.” Mae did that, too. She felt something placed on her palm.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“I’m surprised you didn’t ask how a rat handed you a roll of tape,” the rat chuckled.

“That too.”

“We need to be in complete privacy. Put that black tape on the window.”

“Uh, okay,” Mae turned around and looked down at the donut of tape in her hand. She used the little bit of light provided by the lamp outside. She pulled out a strip of tape and used her sharp teeth to cut it. Eventually, and using way more tape than was necessary, the window was completely covered and Mae could see absolutely nothing, once again. She was starting to feel extra sympathy for blind people. _How do you do it..._

A blue light illuminated the room. The cat turned around and her jaw fell to the floor. Standing there was the figure of a cat she had never seen before. The cat was wearing a tee shirt and shorts with tennis shoes.

“Wow, this dream is all over the place…” Mae mumbled, blinking.

“It’s not a dream, Mae. My name is Jeff, and I’m a real ghost,” the figure explained.

“You sound just like that talking rat I met,” Mae commented. “Speaking of that, where is he?”

“I _was_ the rat,” Jeff explained. “I was possessing it so I could lure you out of the room.”

“Are you going to possess me too? Because that would be so rad.” Mae smiled, excited.

“What? No...I came here to tell you that...actually...I don’t remember...Shit,” The tired visage of the ghost cat frowned.

“Is it important?” Mae asked.  
“If it wasn’t important, why would I have you tape up the window?” Jeff asked, shaking his head.

“You came to tell me something important and then you forgot what it was?”

“Oops.”

“Yeah, oops! What the heck, ghost.”

“It’s Jeff.”

“Whatever it is, now I’m gonna die or something!”

“Maybe, but that’s beside the point.”

“How is that beside the point!? I don’t want to die! At least possess me for a bit so I know what it feels like.”

“Ummm...gotta go!”

“Wait, what, no!”

There was a flash and then Mae saw tons of incomprehensible images flash before her eyes before she woke up in bed. It was really hot all of a sudden and she was breathing heavily. There were a lot of squeaking sounds as the cat sat up quickly, looking around. She was back in the motel room.

“Woah, killer,” Lori blinked, looking over at her from the sitting position she was in on her own bed. The teen had the small alarm clock in her hands, the red light illuminating her rodent face. “Bad dream?”

Mae sat there, blinking. “I don’t know…” She didn’t correct the despised nickname.

“Well, uh, it’s morning,” the young mouse told her. It was still pitch black in the room because of the electricity issues. “You sure you’re okay?”

All the cat could manage was another “I don’t know.”

  
  
  
  



	16. Relapse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This might need to be rated M someone let me know and also feel free to interpret whatever happened in this chapter your own way, but yes, there's a reason for it. I do things for reasons.

Chapter 16 - Relapse

Angus’ eyes opened to a plain white ceiling he didn’t recognize. His vision was blurry since his glasses were off. He felt Gregg cuddling him, hearing his soft breaths as he dozed. The bear rubbed his eyes as he sat up, looking around. It seemed like he was in between two beds of a bland motel room. Gregg stirred, yawning.

“Hey, babe, come back heeerrre,” the fox mumbled as he tugged Angus’ sleeve. They were both in their nice and comfy pajamas. Gregg’s eyes were still closed.

“Where are we?” Angus asked, turning his head and looking down at his boyfriend.

“What do you mean, ya big silly? We’re in the motel we arrived at yesterday...Now come back.” Gregg quietly demanded, yawning. He had a sleepy grin on his amused muzzle.

“Possum Springs doesn’t have a motel,” Angus reminded him. Gregg’s eyes snapped open, and the tired smile on his face immediately vanished with the movement.

“We’re not in Possum Springs…” the smaller animal said, his eyes moving this way and that as he looked at the soft carpet.

“Why wouldn’t we be home?” Angus asked.

“Because we’re on a road...trip...Angus, you drove us here,” the fox had a distraught look on his face. Angus furrowed his brows, definitely not recalling anything like that.

“I think I would remember driving us to some dingy motel on a road trip, Gregg,” he said, getting up. His eyes widened as his head began searing with pain. “Gah! Shit!” He yelped as it felt as if all the energy inside him had seeped out, slithering away with a middle finger held out to him. He fell to his knees, holding his head. “Gregg, help. Help. Help! It hurts!”  _ What’s happening to me…? _

Gregg, who was already up and by his side, heart racing, put his paws on Angus’ shoulders. “I--I don’t know what to do! Should I get help? Angus, what’s happening!?”

The bear grunted and groaned. He was on his knees with his hands clutching his head, which was resting on the floor. Even with his eyes closed, the world felt like it was spinning. Gregg was just holding him, too freaked out and in shock to cry. It seemed like the bear writhed and struggled underneath his paws, and he was shaking with pain. 

With one last movement, his back straightened so quickly, his head striking Gregg’s nose. The fox cried out as his paws instinctively went to hold it. He felt warmness and smelled the familiar scent of blood, making this his second nosebleed in recent memory. He would be lucky if he had a nose or it wasn’t broken by the end of this. But that’s not what mattered right now.  _ Angus…? _

His boyfriend sat on his knees, his back stiff. He was staring forward blankly and his brain was failing to work. He was completely out of it. A moment seemed to last an eternity and then it seemed as if the last bit of energy left him as he collapsed face first onto the carpet. The fox, now not caring about his still bleeding nose, rushed forward and, thinking first to move Angus’ head so he wouldn’t suffocate, did that. 

It was fortunately easy, but Gregg found something that intrigued him. There were two big crimson spots on the ground where Angus' head had been. “Oh shit...This isn’t happening…” the fox murmured as he looked to Angus’ face. Sure enough, his nose was bleeding too.  _ But from what? There’s no way the soft ass carpet connected with his face that hard...What’s going on…? This is supposed to a family-friendly road trip where we take our minds  _ off _ the bad shit, but instead, my boyfriend’s brain is melting, or something, and I’m stuck here dealing with it all alone and my nose is bleeding too and I want to cry but I’m so scared...What a loser. I can’t even stay brave for Angus. I couldn’t even help him with...whatever that was. He doesn’t even deserve me. Parking lot trash, as per fucking usual… _

Gregg curled up on the floor, just lying there. He was so mad that society would make you pay for a visit to the ER that someone  _ needs.  _ What if Angus were dying or something? He didn’t have the money to save him, and they didn’t have insurance either. God! Everything seemed to be happening in double time. How long had he laid here?

The fox’s ears twitched as there was a knock on the door. He didn’t move, though.  _ Maybe they’ll go away... _ He immediately shot that idea down when he realized that maybe they could help him. He got up swiftly and hopped to the door, opening it. “Oh, thank god.” Standing there was Bea, along with Lori. Sure enough, that dummy cigarette was present in the gator’s mouth.

“Hey, Gregg. Lori told me Mae isn’t feeling well, so we’re gonna go get her some medicine,” she said. “Woah, why do you look like you just witnessed a murder?”

“Everything okay?” Lori asked, peeking into the room.

“No! Obviously not. Angus got up and he couldn’t remember ever having plans to go on a road trip!” Gregg explained, fretting over the whole situation.

“What? But he drove us here…” Bea frowned. “Why wouldn’t he remember something like that?”

Gregg threw his paws up into the air. “I dunno, Beatrice! What do you want from me?”

“Okay, okay, geez. Where is he?” the alligator asked, crossing her arms. Gregg stepped to the side and gestured to Angus on the floor, next to the two bloodstains from his nose.

“I don’t know what happened. He was just talking to me, then he got up to get his glasses, I’m guessing. Then his head started hurting like crazy, or something, and then he fell on his knees and I didn’t know what to do so I held him. Then he like did some like exorcist shit or something and made his back go stiff, in the process hitting me in the nose, then he just collapsed face first. I didn’t want him to suffocate so I moved his head, and his nose was bleeding!” The whole time Gregg was talking he was shaking a bit and hugging himself. He was sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Wow…” Lori said, looking down at Angus’ unmoving body. “That’s so cool!”  _ First that man Mae knew...then this! We’re totally living a horror movie. I wonder how I’ll die... _

“What? How.” Gregg gave her a pitiful frown.

“Lori now’s not the time to relate this to horror movies,” Bea said, kneeling down to examine the still-breathing bear. “He’s still breathing, at least. Shouldn’t we take him to the hospital or call 911?”

“We can’t. We don’t have insurance or that kind of money,” Gregg frowned. “Can you just...help me move him to the bed?” He grabbed one of Angus’ legs and held it, looking at Bea expectantly. The alligator sighed and grabbed his arms. “Lori, can you get the other leg?”

“Oh, uh, yeah, sorry,” the young mouse came over and gripped the other leg. “On three?”

“Hold on,” the fox looked at her. “Let’s drag him between the beds so it’ll be easier. I mean, we all assume he’s gonna be heavy right?” He glanced at Angus. “No offense, babe, but it’s true.” He looked at his boyfriend’s face worriedly, hoping this would blow over in the next few hours or so.  _ But heads don’t just start hurting like that. _

“That makes sense,” Bea said. “Okay, let’s move him.” The trio began dragging Angus’ passed out body in between the two beds, still holding onto him once they reached their destination.

“Okay, be careful with him. He’s sensitive,” Gregg cautioned, letting go of Angus’ leg and making space for him on the bed.

“Wait a minute. Why are we putting him on a bed you said you didn’t want to even sleep in?” Lori asked, raising a brow.

“I dunno. It just feels right, I guess,” Gregg blinked.

“Whatever the case, let’s just get this over with. Mae needs medicine,” the gator told the duo.

“Right,” Lori agreed. Gregg grabbed the leg again and looked up at Bea.

“What’s going on with her anyway?” he asked. There was no response as Bea began her countdown.

“One,” Bea began, and the animals’ grips became a bit tighter, “Two...three!” The trio lifted Angus up and swung him to get on the bed, but they didn’t lift him high enough and he smacked into the side of the mattress. Gregg jumped, dropping Angus’ leg, causing Lori to squeak and drop her leg, which caused Bea to have half of the Bear’s weight on her side, and that almost made her drop his head onto the floor.

“Oh my god, I’m sorry Angus!” Gregg put a paw to his distressed forehead.

“Well, don’t just stand there! Help me!” Bea snapped, making both Lori and Gregg spring into action, grabbing Angus’ legs again. “This time, let’s actually get him onto the bed, yeah?”

“Yeah, yeah,” a stressed Gregg nodded, exhaling.

“Calm down, dude,” Lori said, “I’m sure medicine will make them feel better. Though, medicine might not fix possessions…” She smiled.

“There’s no way that’s what’s happening here,” Bea rolled her eyes.

“Do you have a better explanation for Angus acting the way he is?” Lori asked, eyeing her.

“Ghosts don’t exist, Lori,” Gregg said. “This is stupid, can we just get him on the bed already?” The group tried again, being successful this time. “Phew...Don’t worry, hon, we’re gonna go get you medicine and everything will be okay,” the fox smiled. “...Hopefully.”

Bea turned to Lori. “You take good care of Mae and Angus, okay? If they need anything, don’t argue and just help them out.”

“What are you, my mom? Of course, I’ll help them, as long as it doesn’t involve going to the bathroom,” the young mouse crossed her arms. Gregg turned to them both, blinking.

“What do you mean, ‘Take good care of Mae and Angus?’” He frowned.

“Well, we gotta go get them medicine. Get dressed,” Bea demanded. “Come on, Lori.” The mouse obliged and they walked to the door.

“Uh...I’ll be out in a few,” Gregg mumbled, as they shut the door behind them after leaving the room. He went to his suitcase, pushing it over so it thumped against the floor, then got on his knees and opened it.  _ We had such a good time yesterday...It’s crazy how one stupid thing can change the entire mood...And Mae’s sick too? Starting think we should go home...Now, what to wear… _

* * *

 

“You could’ve at least let me know you were going to be waiting in the car,” Gregg said, sliding into the passenger seat and shutting the door. He put on his seatbelt.

“Sorry, it was cold,” Bea said, putting the car in reverse and backing out of the parking space.

“I guess...You never told me what was up with Mae,” he reminded the alligator, who moved her head to look out the car’s rear window, almost hitting Gregg with her snout. “Hey, watch where you swing that thing! I’ve been hit in the face enough on this trip.”

“Shush,” was all Bea had to say about that. Gregg frowned and crossed his arms. “Calm down, Gregg. I know you’re worried about Angus, but it’s going to be fine. Also, you forgot to clean the dried blood from your fur.”

“I’m surprised you aren’t worried about Mae, considering you like her,” Gregg mumbled. “And it’s not like you gave me much time to do the whole morning shabang.”

“I’m not trying to get worked up over a situation that’s going to be fine in the end,” Bea said, her face not even twitching at Gregg mentioning that she liked Mae.

“And what if it isn’t fine, Bea? What if something terrible is going on?” Gregg asked.

“It’s probably just a coincidence.”

“Oh, yeah, totally. It’s totally a coincidence that both my best friend  _ and _ boyfriend get sick on the  _ same  _ day, on the  _ same _ morning.”

“Gregg, it’s fine.”

“If something happens, I’m blaming you.”

“That’s shitty. It’s not my fault. Can’t you just calm down for a bit?’

“Not really!”

“Just try. Here, I’ll put some music on.”

“Ugggh...Are you really going to put on 80’s music?”

“Yes? It’s, like, all I listen to.”

“It’s not what I listen to!”

“Well, it doesn’t matter. Give it a chance.”

“Whatever, but just because I don’t feel like arguing anymore,” Gregg grumbled. Bea reached forward and turned on the radio, which was already set to her favorite station. Surprisingly, no one thought to turn on the radio during the first journey to Durkillesburg.

“And now...a classic. It’s Echo and the Bunnymen!” Bea smiled a bit. Gregg’s ears perked during the intro. The song sounded pretty mysterious and he had to admit, cool. But once the lyrics started he was captivated.

 

_ Under blue moon, I saw you _

_ So soon you’ll take me _

_ Up in your arms _

_ Too late to beg you or cancel it _

_ Though I know it must be _

_ The killing time _

_ Unwillingly mine _

 

“Uh...Is this about some guy getting murdered?” Gregg asked.

“No. It’s called The Killing Moon and it’s about coming to terms with death.”

“Oh…” Gregg faintly heard the chorus as they were talking.

 

_ Fate, up against your will _

_ Through the thick and thin _

_ He will wait until _

_ You give yourself to him _

 

“Maybe we should change it…” the fox suggested, looking at the radio itself.

“You can’t tell me you’re scared of a song,” Bea blinked, her eyes locked onto the road.

“What? No! It’s just...Making me worried about Angus,” he admitted, looking out the window.

“Angus is fine,” Bea assured him.

“But…” There was a pause. “Okay…” Gregg’s ears flattened as he stared at the barren trees they passed by.

* * *

 

_ An unknown location, at an unknown time… _

 

Angus was floating.

Or so it felt.

He was weightless.

No.

He was standing.

Yes.

It was dark.

It was silent.

It was familiar.

“What...Where...Where am I?” the bear asked, moving his head around, but not being able to see a single thing. “Hello!? Anybody there!?” For some reason, his instinct was to walk forward. He walked forward for who knows how long, then stopped, feeling an immense sense of dread and claustrophobia. “Oh no.”

Suddenly, Angus could see again, finding himself staring at a door he hoped he would never see again. “No, no, no…” He felt his heart rate pick up as he reached for the knob. He felt his heart rate pick up as he reached for the knob. He felt his heart rate pick up as he reached for the knob. He felt his heart rate pick up as he reached for the knob. Locked.

He should have known.

He should have.

He should.

The bear was filled with fear as he stepped back from the dreadful door, his back hitting something behind him.  _ The shelves... _ Suddenly, he felt heavy boxes, sharp bags, metal cans, and more fall on him. Things seemed to keep piling up as he suffocated and felt himself being crushed under the weight. He was panicking now.

Angus began hyperventilating. “Help! Help, someone! Help me!” He coughed and wheezed, feeling tears spill down his cheeks. The waterworks didn’t stop as he struggled to get out of the pile of items that fell on him. The little flecks of light he could see through the uneven shapes of everything were blurred by the salty tears filling his eyes.

Just when he thought it was over, he was on his knees, no longer being suffocated. In fact, he didn’t even know how he got on his knees or where everything had gone. He found he couldn’t even control his actions anymore. He looked down at the ground, still not being able to stop crying, but something seemed off. The bear’s paws seemed to be growing smaller in front of his very eyes.

There was a vivid presence, then. Angus looked up.

_ WAP! _

The bear cried out as he rubbed his cheek. “Please don’t hit me...Please…” His voice definitely sounded higher pitched than usual. He was young again. He whole body quivered.

“Get up, you little bitch,” His mother demanded. “Now.”

“I...I can’t…” the bear stammered, shaking. Another whack, to his other cheek. “Okay, okay! I’m getting up, mama!” He sobbed, and with legs that felt like jelly, stood up, still looking down at the ground.

“Look at me when I’m talking to you,” she growled. Angus didn’t want, for the life of him, to look up, but he couldn’t resist. His head turned up and he saw the face of his mom. She looked younger than the last time Angus saw her. “You know he doesn’t love you, right?”

“Y-yes he does…” Angus argued.

“You can’t make that decision for him,” his mom hissed.

“I’m n-n-not, mama...It’s true,” the smaller bear sniffled.

“You’re such a pitiful boy. Why couldn’t you be more like your brother? He’s actually going to help society and he’s in the navy. And you...You’re just a confused child who doesn’t know what love is.”

“I know what love is,” Angus felt courage rising up in him.

“If that were true, you’d stop this stupid gay bullshit and find a nice girl that will make me some grandchildren,” His mother crossed her arms.

“You don’t control me,” Angus growled.

“I’m your mother, of course I do,” she laughed hideously.

“No, you don’t. You say I don’t know what love is, but look where you are with...dad. You say I don’t know what love is, but apparently I know about it more than you do! And you know what…” He was slowly growing taller. “I love Gregg more than I love you.”

His mother seemed to be taken aback as Angus grew back to his original height. She had a hurt look in her eyes. “You take that back.” Her voice changed, to another familiar voice that Angus dreaded. He blinked and suddenly she was gone.

He let out a sigh of relief, then felt a small paw on his shoulder. “Angus.” The bear smiled as he turned around, seeing Gregg there, looking none too pleased. Angus still tried to come forward and hug him but was stopped by a stern paw pushing against his chest. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

“Wh-what do you mean, bug?” Angus already knew this wasn’t going to go well.

“Oh, you don’t know? Don’t lie to me. How can you get off on using people?” Gregg frowned, taking his paw away and looking at Angus distastefully.

“What? I...I don’t! I’m not using anyone!” He cried.

“Bullshit. You’re just using me so you can stay happy because you’re such a sad person. I can’t believe this,” Gregg said.

“I’m not! What’s gotten into you?” Angus asked, wanting to once again cry.

“What’s gotten into me? No, this is all on you. You’re the problem. You’ve always been the problem. I was just too blind to see it,” Gregg hissed. “And now you’re going to let your dad pull a Game Night on me.”

For some reason, Angus began laughing at that. It was so funny. So funny. “What do y--” There was a loud crack and Angus was sprayed with blood. His eyes bulged and he stood there in shock as Gregg fell backward, thudding as his head hit the ground. Scarlet liquid began pooling around the fox. The bear looked up to see the steaming muzzle of a recently shot pistol, his dad’s paw wrapped around the grip.

“Now you can make your mother happy.” Angus’ dad cooed, giving a cruel smile.

Then it was Angus that was holding the gun, and it was only he and Gregg that were in the pantry now. “You did this. You’re a monster.” A voice said. He realized it was his own.

“No...no!” Angus yelled, throwing the--shooting Gregg five more times. He fell to his knees and cried into his dead boyfriend’s chest. “Why…?” He sobbed as the whole pantry began to shake and rumble.

“Angus...Angus...Angus…” Gregg started to mumble, as blood leaked from the corners of his red stained mouth and the pool of the stuff beneath him expanded. The bear looked at the fox, whose eyes were closed. “Angus!”

* * *

 

“Angus!” Lori shook the bear. “Wake up. You’re creating a typical horror movie trope!”

Angus eyes slowly opened, and he looked at the mouse. “Wha…?”

“Dude, you were crying and shouting and stuff. It was entertaining to watch, but then I figured I oughta wake you up. Are you okay? What happened?”

“I feel like shit and don’t want to talk about it,” Angus groaned. “Sorry, that wasn’t supposed to come out like that. It’s just...Personal.”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” Lori nodded, sitting on the edge of the other bed. She knew about personal stuff. She ran away, after all. “Do you need anything?”

“Where’s Gregg and everyone?” Angus asked.

“They went to get you and Mae medicine,” Lori explained, messing with the zipper on her hoodie.

“Wait, Mae’s feeling bad too?” Angus asked. Lori nodded, then stood up.

“Speaking of Mae, I gotta go check on her. I’ll be back in a bit.” The mouse left, leaving Angus with the image of him shooting the already dead Gregg multiple times. He felt even sicker than before.


End file.
